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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22641565">RWBY: Magenta</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBrcklayer/pseuds/TheBrcklayer'>TheBrcklayer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kamen Rider Decade, RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate universes as in plural, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Asexual Character, Asexual Ruby Rose (RWBY), BAMF Jaune Arc, But really she's the least of Decades problems, Destroyer of Worlds and All that, Dimension Travel, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hot mess Jaune Arc, Its Decade okay, Jaune Arc is in no way prepared for this, Look there's a lot of things Decade could do to her okay?, Love Triangles, Minor Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Narutaki must be having a conniption, Nora and Gentaro would so get along..., Post-Kamen Rider Zi-O, Pre-Decade VS Zi-O, Protective Team, Ruby Rose is a Good Friend, Salem Gets Rider Kicked, Sisterly Ruby Rose, So yeah, Superheroes, Team Feels, Team Fluff, Team Up, Team as Family, Tsundere Weiss Schnee, Two of them must be his worst nightmare, Well hopefully, universal travel is here</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 11:48:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>84,437</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22641565</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBrcklayer/pseuds/TheBrcklayer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A legacy to be upheld, that's how Jaune understands it. Whenever the innocent cry out, a Kamen Rider is there to protect them. Sounds all fun and games, right? Well, nobody ever told him the cost of upholding the legacies of twenty Riders, the Destroyer of Worlds amongst them! Yeah, yeah, he can deal with this... right? Oh, he's so not prepared for this!</p><p>Or the one where a dying Tsukasa passes on the Decadriver and Jaune is in no way responsible for what happens next. Oh well, at least he's got his team by his side. No, his family. If only he could keep Nora from trying to battle every other Kamen Rider they meet. Which, given Decade is a dimensional traveler, a lot of them. Why couldn't things just be simple, why couldn't he just be a Huntsman like he wanted?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hikari Natsumi/Kadoya Tsukasa, Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune Arc/Ruby Rose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue: Through the Lens</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Night fell over the city of Vale, the sounds of nightlife slowly becoming audible. Foot traffic picked up on the streets, passersby unaware that something was amiss. A hidden war, with only the barest of ripples and undercurrents slowly revealing themselves to the surface every now and again. Most people would never know it existed, and those that learned of its existence were either content to never speak of it or more often than not… silenced.</p>
<p>Payoffs, and people brought into the war’s fold. People quietly slipped away into the deep dark, never to be seen again. Into the black. Viewed from the eyes of an observer, they basically vanished from all existence. You would need a special sort of lens to look into this hidden world. Oh, am I being too poetic? Sorry about that. Maybe I should just cut to the chase, eh?</p>
<p>Midnight struck, and with it under cover of darkness, villainy lurked. The First National Bank of Vale, currently being looted for all it was worth. Box upon box of gold bars was being loaded up into a truck, supervised by a man in a sharply dressed suit. Lighting a cigarette, he tapped his cane on the floor twice, with a hint of nervous urgency. </p>
<p>“Hurry it up would you?” Roman Torchwick, self-styled master thief grumbled. “It’s not like we’re on the clock or anything. Truly, worth every cent you are. When the cops come and arrest you all for your incompetence, you’ll have no one to blame but yourselves!” </p>
<p>“Boss-lady’s not going to be happy that you’re out one of your little excursions, you do know that right?” came another voice and Torchwick groaned. Sitting up high on a rafter was his little, well I’d guess you’d call it Torchwick’s supervisor. Mercury Black was his name. “And just between you and me, I’d rather not see get the boss angry at you.”</p>
<p>“She’d be angry at you too, Black,” Torchwick said lighting up another cigarette. “You followed me here, so if we get arrested we both go down.”</p>
<p>“If?” Mercury retorted. “You’d get arrested, I’d be long gone by the time I even hear the cops. ‘Course, then I’d have to hunt you down before you blab anything to anyone. Which is a bit of a shame really, I like you Torchwick. You’re… creative. You’ve got a certain charm about you, ya know?”</p>
<p>“You flatter me,” Torchwick replied. “But yes, I am awesome aren’t I? Though why you would need to shut me up is beyond me. As far as the cops know, I’ve been only knocking over banks. Word hasn’t made it to them of my… extracurricular activities. Shame really, I’d love to further my legend!”</p>
<p>“Someone’s got an ego…” Mercury drawled. “What’s taking them so long anyways? Why are we even here anyways?”</p>
<p>“Oh, you see you have been spending too much time around Cinder, she’s got you all in on her master plan -which I’d still like to know the details of by the way- that you forget a few things. Like the middleman, namely me,” Torchwick elaborated. “Every criminal empire does need funding, you know. You’re a good fighter Black, I’ll give you that, but you lack a certain vision.</p>
<p>“Hey, the only vision I need is Lady Cinder’s!” Mercury said.</p>
<p>“I swear, if I didn’t know better I’d swear you had a thing for her…” Torchwick grumbled. “Not that I blame you, given she’s as sexy as she is deadly. Suppose it’s a bit of a tradeoff really, you get sexy but you also have someone who can fry you to crisp. Ooooh, that might make things a bit problematic in the sheets eh?” he laughed, with Mercury’s eye twitching in irritation. Apparently, he failed to see the humor in all of this.</p>
<p>“Oh, shut up…” Mercury grumbled. </p>
<p>Torchwick laughed even harder, and Mercury’s eye twitched again. “...Ooooh, twitchy eye, may want to see the doctor about that. Looks serious!” Torchwick cackled, now nearly falling over himself with laughter. </p>
<p>Mercury looked to Torchwick’s left. As if to further his humiliation he saw Torchwick’s companion, a rather short young girl shaking silently with amusement. Mercury had never been entirely sure of the exact relationship between the two, were they lovers, companions, father and daughter? Ugh, now there was a horrible thought, Torchwick reproducing! The world was bad enough with only one of him! For the most part, this girl had been silent throughout the whole operation. Actually, did she even speak? Mercury had never been exactly sure if she could. Agh, it didn’t really matter in the end, did it? All he was here to do was supervise, and make sure this idiot didn’t get himself in over his head. Then he heard it, the sound of a motorcycle. </p>
<p>“Oh?” Mercury asked before a wall burst outwards, rubble flying everywhere. Torchwick shoved his companion to the floor as a cloud of dust and smoke filled the air. Mercury let out a shout: “...who the hell?”</p>
<p>Then, from out of the smoke came a sound, and a… was that a magenta motorbike? It was! It slid along the marble floor with a screech, before going into a spin as all of Torchwick’s henchmen were knocked to the floor by the 360 spinning machine. Finally, the mayhem stopped and both Mercury and Torchwick got a good look at their newfound problem. It was a someone, definitely a someone. Odd choice in fashion, given that massive magenta belt-buckle they wore. </p>
<p>“Seriously, who the hell is this guy?” Mercury asked.</p>
<p>“I don’t know who he is, but he’s got balls, I’ll tell you that,” Torchwood remarked. “Style for sure, but he’s pretty foolish if you ask me. Don’t you know who I am? I’m Roman Torchwick! Crime lord!”</p>
<p>“Oh, and here I thought you were Professor Ozpin,” the figure said, and for the first time both men realized how young the intruder was. “Must have been the suit, my mistake.”</p>
<p>“Well, this is a surprise, shouldn’t you be home in bed right about now, kid?” Mercury asked. “What is it that you want? If it’s candy, I’ll give you that if you agree to never speak of this again ‘kay?”</p>
<p>“Well, you both behind bars might be nice…” the intruder said.</p>
<p>“Hahahahahaa,” Torchwick laughed. “You’re real cute kid, real cute. But if you think you’re going to send us to the slammer, man you’re deluded. Now go home like a good little boy, and maybe I won’t have to spank you.”</p>
<p>“Oh well, worth a shot,” the intruder said as he slipped what looked to be a card into his belt buckle. “Henshin!”</p>
<p>A flash of light just as Torchwick opened fire and then… Bullets fell to the floor, barely having scratched the strange new armor. Was it aura, or was it something else? No, it was the armor, had to be the armor. And then, of all things: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGtywvNCZ08"> <b>“Kamen Ride: Decade!”</b> </a></p>
<p>“Interesting choice of attire,” Torchwick said snapping his fingers, and then pointing directly at this ‘Decade’. Roman’s men rushed towards him. “Not sure if I’d go with pink as my first choice though.”</p>
<p>“It’s… it’s magenta!” Decade stammered as he jumped off the bike, and rolled to the left to avoid a punch from a henchman. Doing a leg sweep, he knocked the thug to the floor before punching another in the face.</p>
<p>“Whatever,” Torchwick said with a very visible roll of the eyes. “An extra bar of gold to whoever brings me his head!” </p>
<p>A thug went flying past him and Roman sighed. “How much did you say you paid them again?” Mercury deadpanned.</p>
<p>“Not enough, apparently,” Torchwick grumbled. “As I said, you’re worth every cent. Truly! Now, let’s talk shop okay? Decade is it? I’m assuming that’s your name, right? Listen, maybe we can go on about our separate ways. You don’t talk about this to anyone, and I don’t blow your head off!”</p>
<p>“Yeah, sorry, I don’t do deals with criminals.” Decade replied.</p>
<p>“Oh well, worth a shot,” Roman said as he raised his cane and took aim. “And speaking of shots…”</p>
<p>Several gunshots later and Decade was staggering back. “...hey, uh, aren’t superheroes supposed to stop the supervillains?” Mercury asked. “You’re pretty lousy at this gig if you ask me!”</p>
<p>“Yeah, lousy…” Decade muttered to himself, his voice going unheard in all the mayhem. He then saw Neo charging at him, Hush extended. Letting out a so not manly yelp, he unfurled a blade of his own. Decade stepped back as Neo continued striking again and again, before in a stroke of genius… Several shots fired, Decade’s sword having changed to a gun. Neo let out a shout of pain, trying to cut off the bleeding. Shooting him a venomous glare, Neo kneed Decade in the stomach.</p>
<p>“So what do you get out of this, anyways?” Mercury asked with a chortle. “Surely not just points for doing a good deed! I mean, come on, every superhero has their motivation! Even lousy ones!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> “Tch. I don't know what it is about you kid. Maybe losing all this blood is doing something to me. Making me go crazy or something. But there's something about you kid. Hell, maybe it's true. Maybe those… best inclined to power are those who don't seek it.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “What… what are you saying?” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “I'm saying… well, you know what I'm saying. There must always be a destroyer of worlds. Be the next Decade!” </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, you want my motivation?” Decade asked. “Fine, I’ll tell you. Whenever an innocent voice cries out? A Rider will be there. Wherever evil exists, there will always be a Rider to defeat it, no matter what personal cost it may bring them. The innocent can smile during the day and sleep during the night...because they know that whatever evil lurks in the shadows, they have a Rider looking out for them.” </p>
<p>“Cute, real cute,” Mercury said as he leaped into the fray, a kick aimed squarely at Decade’s head. There was a sound like a gunshot, and Decade just barely moved out of the way in time. Mercury slammed into a wall, and rebound off it with the force of a freight train. “You think up that whole speech yourself?”</p>
<p>Decade drew another card, and in an instant, he was now covered in red rubies. With a powerful wide-sweeping kick, flames sprung up between him and Mercury. Decade laughed sheepishly, admitting: “Actually, yes.”</p>
<p>“Good god, you’re corny,” Mercury said throwing kick after kick. Decade swore under his breath, he wasn’t nearly as flexible as the original Wizard. Apparently, the real deal was constantly doing flips, spins and the like. Man, he needed to work out! Mercury finally scored a blow, and with one powerful kick sent Decade staggering back. “Go home kid, maybe train a bit more okay?”</p>
<p>Decade knew he was out of his depths. He knew his opponent was right. He wasn’t up to this gig yet. But all the same… He couldn’t just let these three do this! He had a legacy to uphold!</p>
<p>
  <span class="u"> <b>“Kamen Ride: Kabuto, Change Beetle! Attack Ride: Clock Up!”</b> </span>
</p>
<p>The three criminals only saw a brief flash of red as Decade changed forms once more, before… nothing. And then they were on the floor, in considerable pain. Then the Rider appeared before them once again, and then there was the sound of sirens. Decade seemed to show fear at this, well he <em> was </em>technically a vigilante after all. </p>
<p>“We’ll finish this another time,” Torchwick said as he and his two cohorts made their escape through the hole Decade had created. “I’ll be sure to remember you kid. Had a blast, but you know how it is!”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Decade made his escape as well. As soon as he was far enough away, he climbed off his motorcycle and sighed as he canceled his transformation. The sirens were now only brief whispers in the distance. Falling back against a wall, Jaune Arc muttered: “...what a night…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---------</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Time came and went, and Beacon arrived. It was a nice enough view, Jaune supposed. Right up until he vomited on some blond girl’s shoes. What, motion sickness was a common enough ailment! Oh yeah, his enrollment at Beacon was already off to a <em> greeeeeeeeeeat </em>start. Yeah, this sucked.</p>
<p>“H-Hey, airsickness is a common thing okay?” Jaune stammered out to the blond, who was seething. W-Wait, was her hair on fire? “Look, I said I’m sorry!”</p>
<p>Nearby, a girl in a cloak -girlfriend maybe?- was rubbing the blonde’s shoulders trying to calm her down. Okay, not a girlfriend. Sister probably. Yeah, that had to be it. They didn’t act like girlfriends, not from what Jaune had seen. Also, incest. Ugh, no. Just no. Yes, thank you brain for even going there! Yeah, he was probably going to have nightmares now. Ulp, there came his lunch again. Oh well, at least this time it wasn’t due to motion sickness. Explaining this one should be fun.</p>
<p>“...wow, you really do have motion sickness,” the blonde said. “Ouch, that must suucccccccccccckkkkkkkkkk. Like, suck balls.”</p>
<p>“Yang!” the other girl hissed, swatting her on the shoulder.</p>
<p>“What Rubes, I’m just speaking it how it is!” the newly named Yang said with a shrug. “Not my fault Vomit Boy here can’t handle all of this.”</p>
<p>“Yang! Sensitivity!” Ruby hissed and Yang sucked in a breath.</p>
<p>“Ooooh, right, sorry,” Yang laughed nervously. “...I’ve been meaning to work on that.”</p>
<p>In the background, the early morning news played. </p>
<p>
  <em> “...The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you, Lisa.” </em>
</p>
<p>Ruby seemed actually rather…. What was it? Interested by this slight bit of news, though why Jaune wasn’t sure. Roman made headlines every day now. At least nobody had mentioned Decade. The soon to be Arc Patriarch snorted at Yang. “No, no, it’s fine. I needed the laugh.”</p>
<p>“See, he likes it!” Yang crowed triumphantly before she turned her attention to the newscaster. “Oh man, see this?”</p>
<p><em> “Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted…” </em>said the onscreen newscaster, who was it? Lisa Lavender. Yeah, that was it. Jaune vaguely remembered one of his sisters practically fangirling over her, saying how romantic the life of a reporter was. She might have had the teeniest tiniest crush on her, Jaune suspected. </p>
<p>“...Okay, yeah, seriously. I know the White Fang are trying for equal rights and all, but really, is attacking actual protests a good way to go about it?” Yang asked, and Jaune out of the corner of his eye noticed this black-haired girl looking oddly uncomfortable. Curious. “I swear they’re just looking for an excuse…”</p>
<p>“Talk like that will get you killed, really,” the black-haired girl said, looking up from her book. Jaune remembered what it was about, a man with two souls. </p>
<p>“What’s <em> that </em>supposed to mean?” Yang asked suspiciously, the whole room’s attention on them and the developing argument. </p>
<p>“The White Fang has spies everywhere, I’d just be careful. Friendly warning.” the girl said going back to her book. Yang was having none of that, and tore the book away from her. Ruby let out a sigh in the background.</p>
<p>“And how do you know this? Are <em> you </em>a spy?” Yang asked.</p>
<p>Yang didn’t notice the flinch from the girl, seething as she was but Jaune did. His eyes widened in understanding and realization. Okay, yeah, that suddenly made a lot of things make sense. Jaune was many things, but stupid and unobservant wasn’t one of them. Okay, so White Fang or more likely former White Fang. </p>
<p>“Leave her alone Yang,” Jaune said speaking up for the first time. “She’s just trying to give you advice. It’s a dangerous world.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, you’re probably right…” Yang muttered as she backed off. The black-haired girl sent Jaune a thankful smile, and for the first time, he noticed how… cat-like her eyes seemed. “Sorry about that, it’s my temper. It gets the better of me sometimes.”</p>
<p>“Learn to control it,” the black-haired girl said. “Stupidity like that, being a complete and utter hot head? It’s going to get you killed. I don’t know if it’s escaped your notice, but we’re here to be soldiers. Not thrillseekers and adventurers!”</p>
<p>“Right…” Yang trailed off. Ruby meanwhile, had set herself down next to Jaune and peered over. Jaune nervously had taken out his Rider Cards and was just shuffling through them. Back and forth, back and forth. It gave him an odd sense of comfort, really. Some of them seemed to hum with a power, and a warmth. </p>
<p>“Trading cards?” Ruby asked and Jaune nervously stammered out a response. “Huh, okay. Never seen those before. Ka… Cay-men Rider? Is that like a new expansion to Remnant: The Game?”</p>
<p>“Uh, yeah, sorta,” Jaune said. “It hasn’t been announced yet. My uncle’s friends with the lead scriptwriter, so…” </p>
<p>That wasn’t technically a lie, actually. Well, not all of it anyways. His uncle <em> was </em> friends with the lead scriptwriter for Remnant’s scenarios. Ruby picked out one of the cards, ignoring Jaune’s shout. “Huh, I like this guy. It looks a bit like a firefly! Ghost huh? Spoooookkkkyyy. Oooooooh, ooooooohhh!” </p>
<p>She said this all the while making obviously fake ghost sounds. Jaune shuddered. Okay yeah, so Ghost creeped Jaune out a little. Not that you could blame him, given the whole, y’know, undead specter thing he seemed to have going on. “Hey, is that a scythe?” Jaune asked his attention suddenly drawn to Ruby’s weapon.</p>
<p>“It's also a customizable high impact sniper rifle,” Ruby replied chipperly. Jaune looked at her blankly. Cocking the weapon, Ruby said: “It's also a gun!”</p>
<p>Mecha-shift weapons, oh Jaune envied her. He just had his old sword and shield. Well, nothing wrong with the classics but he swore it wasn’t balanced or weighted properly. He’d have to get that looked at. Was it possible to be envious of another mecha-shifter, especially when you secretly had a changeable weapon that nobody was supposed to know about? Okay, yeah, possibly. Probably. </p>
<p>“…It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war.” Jaune murmured at Ruby’s questioning look towards his shield.</p>
<p>Explaining his issue, well, some of it anyways to Ruby, the girl looked thoughtful. “Meet me after classes, I’ll see what I can do. I learned weapon forgery at Signal. It’s how I made my sweetie…” </p>
<p>Here she rubbed her weapon almost lavisciously. Jaune stammered out: “A-Aren’t you a little young to be here at Beacon?”</p>
<p>“I… may have got in early?” Ruby asked laughing nervously, a hand running itself through her hair. “Look, I don’t know how it happened, but Yang’s all excited and saying I’m going to be the bee’s knees and stuff. I got moved ahead two years. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything. I don't want to be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees and oh god, I’m rambling aren’t I?”</p>
<p>Jaune nodded and Ruby facepalmed. “Hey, you’ve got one friend here already actually,” Jaune said. “Me. I guess we can be…”</p>
<p>“Socially awkward buddies together?” Ruby asked with a smile. “Y-Yeah, I’d like that.”</p>
<p>Then, the screen changed to show a blond woman’s face. Glynda Goodwitch, Jaune remembered.<em> “You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world.” </em></p>
<p>“I met Glynda you know,” Ruby explained. “I suppose that’s how I got in. See, I, uh… hey, can you keep a secret?”</p>
<p>She was suddenly very nervous. Jaune snorted to himself. <em> “Well, I’m already keeping one major one. Okay, two major ones.” </em></p>
<p>“Yeah, I won’t say a word. Pinkie Promise,” Jaune said with his best winning smile. Which to be fair, was very <em> very </em>good.</p>
<p>“I maaaaaaaaaaay or may not have stopped Roman Torchwick last night, like sure he got away but Glynda showed up and a few moments later there I was, suddenly in Beacon! Bam, like that!”</p>
<p>“Wow…” Jaune said, not able to help himself. “That’s… actually kinda awesome really.”</p>
<p>“Ugh, now you see why I don’t want anyone knowing?” Ruby said. “God, everyone would just want to give me so much special treatment. Like, I don’t want that. I just want to make my way through this school honestly!”</p>
<p>Little did they know someone else had heard them. Red-haired, almost amazonian really. </p>
<p>“Hi there, I couldn’t help but overhear…” Pyrrha said. Ruby gasped, and Pyrrha flinched. She, to herself in a defeated tone murmured: “...Oh no, recognized already? There go two actual friends…”</p>
<p>“Hey wait, aren’t you the girl on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box?” Jaune and Ruby said in unison before laughing: “Jinxed!”</p>
<p>“But they only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters…” Jaune murmured in realization. Suddenly he realized and let out a small: “Oh.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you,” Pyyrha admitted. </p>
<p>“You’re… you’re the same as us, aren’t you?” Ruby asked. “All socially awkward and not knowing how to interact with people… and stuff. Name’s Ruby. Ruby Rose. Yes, I’m related to that Summer Rose.” she grumbled.</p>
<p>Jaune let out a huh, he actually hadn’t realized the connection. “Well, the name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue - ladies love it! They will! Well, I-I hope they will. My mom always says that... Oh, Never mind.”</p>
<p>Here Ruby and Pyyrha giggled. “You know, never thought I’d meet someone who needs a friend as badly as I do…” Pyrrha said before she facepalmed. “I’m sorry, was that too forward of me?”</p>
<p>“Hey, we can all be socially awkward buddies together right?” Ruby asked and Pyyrha smiled. </p>
<p>“I’d… I’d like that. Pyrrha, Pyrrha Nikos!” the woman said with a grin before she let out a gasp. She’d taken notice of a certain set of cards. “Ooooooh, are those cards for Remnant? I haven’t seen those in years!”</p>
<p>“What?” Ruby blinked. “I thought everybody knew the game, like it’s so super popular!”</p>
<p>“Yes, um, well my promoting company didn’t want me to show any really nerdy habits, said it’d ruin my image,” Pyrrha snorted. “Or something like that.”</p>
<p>“Sounds horrible,” Jaune said. “Like, really horrible.”</p>
<p>“Oh, it was. Yeah, it had its perks like being an icon for huntresses but it was really annoying at the same time,” Pyrrha said. “I was so glad when my contract expired. Sadly, it seems you can’t escape fame…”</p>
<p>Here she looked behind her, with a sad expression. Sure enough, people were pointing and whispering her name.</p>
<p>“I… Yeah, that’s just wrong,” Jaune agreed. “God, I can’t imagine…”</p>
<p>“Yeah, well, it is what it is,” Pyrrha agreed. “Guess I’ll have to just deal with it. Suck it up, as the saying goes.”</p>
<p>“Well, you won’t be dealing with it alone,” Ruby said planting a hand on the other huntress’ shoulder. “You’ve got us now.”</p>
<p>“You know?” Pyrrha asked and Ruby and Jaune shared a look.</p>
<p>“Know, know what?” Jaune asked.</p>
<p>“I think this year may not be so bad after all…” Pyrrha said and Ruby and Jaune shared a smile.</p>
<p>“I think you’re right,” Jaune agreed. “Glad to meet you, Pyrrha Nikos.” </p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7T_Y49KrrQ">So yeah, that was the start of Beacon.</a> New friends, new alliances and all the while carrying a secret. Such was the life of Jaune Arc. <em> “Welp Tsukasa, I hope you’re proud of me. A Rider needs friends right? ...I wonder what yours were like? Maybe one day, I’ll meet them…” </em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Beacon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rising high and proud over the veritable fortress that was Beacon was the Headmaster’s tower, overlooking the school since time immemorial. Massive gears clanked and turned in almost rhythmic fashion. Smaller cogs, connected to larger gears turned in a similar manner. All of course, were connected to something, the office also doubled as the school’s clock tower. To that end, the face of the clock also served as a window. You’d think all of this would be very distracting, but not really. Headmaster Ozpin always thought it provided a sense of clarity, to remind him that the world was still turning and that everything had it’s time. Even him, someday.</p>
<p>Hopefully.</p>
<p>“Start of the new year, huh?” the man sitting across from Ozpin asked, the shattered moon casting a glow into the otherwise darkened office. “So, why’d you call me in from the wilds. As nice it is to know my nieces got into Beacon, I doubt you’d just call me out here without a very good reason.”</p>
<p>Qrow Branwen. A drunkard, a bad-luck charm, and a huntsman. But most importantly, one of Ozpin’s top spies. Even a powerful man like him had enemies. Actually, more often than not the more powerful you were the more enemies you generally had, Ozpin had found. </p>
<p>“I’ll get straight to the point,” Ozpin said. “There’s a new player in the scenario.”</p>
<p>“A new player?” Qrow inquired leaning forwards in his chair. “So, do they work for… her?”</p>
<p>A noticeable chill went through the air. Most people would say it was just because of small gaps in the stonework, but the more superstitious? They would say otherwise. “Not as far as I can tell, we’ve been keeping eyes on Torchwick for a while now. We know, or at least suspect he’s in league with Salem’s forces. He may not know it, but he works for the Queen of the Grimm all the same. This new player, they seem to have no love for Torchwick. Or criminals in general actually.”</p>
<p>“Yeah?” Qrow asked. “What makes you say that?”</p>
<p>“Call it a hunch,” Ozpin said as he played a slice of footage from the bank. Some of the only security footage recovered, actually. Qrow’s eyes widened as he saw the jeweled warrior battle, or at least attempt to fight Mercury and Neo. </p>
<p>“Well, I have to admit he’s got style,” Qrow remarked. “Talk about bling bling, bang! Heh, wonder if he’s compensating for something though.”</p>
<p>And then he heard the speech. <em> “Oh, you want my motivation?” Decade asked. “Fine, I’ll tell you. Whenever an innocent voice cries out? A Rider will be there. Wherever evil exists, there will always be a Rider to defeat it, no matter what personal cost it may bring them. The innocent can smile during the day and sleep during the night...because they know that whatever evil lurks in the shadows, they have a Rider looking out for them.” </em></p>
<p>The feed cut out there, the security camera destroyed during the fight. “Huh, seems like an interesting person,” Qrow said. “Never seen a semblance quite like that before, it almost feels like…”</p>
<p>“Magic?” Ozpin asked. “Yes, that’s what I was thinking. Only I didn’t give it to him. So the question is… who did?” </p>
<p>“Well, corny as he is,” Qrow replied. “It seems he’s on our side, given all that talk of fighting for justice and all that. Salem’s agents are good, but not <em> that </em>good. He seems almost… pure. Though really, we have to talk about his fashion choices. That purple belt buckle of his does him no favors! Clashes with the rest of the outfit.”</p>
<p>“So you’re a fashion critic now?” Ozpin asked, raising an eyebrow. “I never would have imagined.”</p>
<p>“What, I’m just saying!” Qrow replied with a small shrug before taking a swig from his flask. </p>
<p>“No, I’d have to agree, actually,” Ozpin replied. “It <em> is </em>a horrible fashion statement. Still, there’s something about it that bothers me…”</p>
<p>“What, aside from the fact that it’s horribly ugly?” Qrow deadpanned.</p>
<p>“Yes, aside from the fact that it’s horribly ugly,” Ozpin drawled. “I’m not sure what it is yet, but… This one bears further investigation.”</p>
<p>“Ah, so I see why you called me here,” Qrow realized. “You want me to go on a little recruitment drive, is that it? Find this guy and bring him into our cause? Gotta admit, clumsy as his fighting style is, he could probably be a big help against Salem. And really, with a bit of training…”</p>
<p>“What bothers me is how… young he seems,” Ozpin admitted. “I am many things, but I am not a fan of sending children into warfare.”</p>
<p>“And yet you’re doing exactly that,” Qrow replied. “That’s what these kids are doing, training for a battle they hopefully will never even know exists!”</p>
<p>“I never said I liked it, I only do it because we have no other choice,” Ozpin said. “True allies are few and far between, and we won’t be around forever Qrow. Someone will get lucky, kill us, maybe that someone will be Salem herself. I don’t know. I can’t see everything. Eventually… we will need our successors. To continue the fight.”</p>
<p>“And here we go,” Qrow sighed knowing Ozpin was setting himself up for one of those grand speeches of his. Taking a swig from his flask, he hoped maybe he’d get drunk enough so that he couldn’t hear this.</p>
<p>“There are indeed a misguided few who have filled their hearts with malice. It doesn't take a great number of people to cause harm, but I still believe there are far more people in this world willing to prevent it. But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that we’ve long forgotten; things that require a smaller, more honest soul. These children are our future, maybe seeing things through different eyes will eventually win us the day,” Ozpin said. “I’m an old man, I’ve lived many lives. Perhaps too many, maybe too many. A different perspective might be in order. All of us are old men and woman Qrow, we’re cynical, perhaps far too much. Maybe a fresh set of eyes will one day achieve the victory we cannot.”</p>
<p>“You know, keep talking like that, and maybe one day I’ll start to believe you,” Qrow sighed before he leaned back in his chair. “Fine, I’ll keep an eye out for this kid. But I still don’t like it. Ruby… Yang, these kids? They’re too young for this. Hell, Ruby shouldn’t even be here! Summer, yeah I know what her power was but… Do you really think she has it? My niece?”</p>
<p>“She has silver eyes,” Ozpin said. “She is one of them, one of the Warriors coming down from the God of Light’s bloodline. I am never mistaken.”</p>
<p>“And now she’s about to get dragged into the same madness that got Summer killed,” Qrow grumbled. “What luck!”</p>
<p>“You of all people should know we make our own luck,” Ozpin said. “Perhaps one day soon, Salem will be defeated. My love will be defeated.”</p>
<p>“Shit…” Qrow muttered. “Keep forgetting that you two were once like that. I can’t possibly imagine…”</p>
<p>“No, you can’t. And for that, I envy you…” Ozpin said. His thoughts turned to the new warrior. <em> “A Kamen Rider huh? I never thought I’d see the day when one returned to Remnant.” </em></p>
<p>Meanwhile, most of the students had been settled into a central hall for their first night at Beacon. Most were falling asleep or settling in for the night. Well, when I say most… “Ohmygosh, sis! That kid's got a collapsible staff! And she's got a fire sword!” Ruby practically babbled.</p>
<p>“Easy there, little sister. They're just weapons!” Yang chuckled, fighting back a smile. Sometimes she had to wonder about her sister, she really did. </p>
<p>“‘Just weapons'? They're an extension of ourselves! They're a part of us! Oh, they're so cool! Sorry. I… I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people, but better…” Ruby murmured.</p>
<p>“Well, whatever works for you I guess…” Yang asked and Ruby looked at her. </p>
<p>“What, no speech how I need to make friends or anything like that?” she asked.</p>
<p>“Well, do I really need to give you that whole lecture?” Yang asked. “I mean, saw you making friends with Vomit Boy and the redhead. See, told you it wasn’t all that hard! Oh, my little sister’s growing up. I’ve never been more proud!” the blonde bombshell said miming wiping a tear from her eye.</p>
<p>“Um, yes well…” Ruby stammered. “I suppose it was just luck, right? I mean, for all I know if I hadn’t met Jaune and Pyrrha, who knows what might have happened. I mean, for all I know I could have crashed and burned with… I don’t know, Ice Queen!”</p>
<p>Here, both looked to their left where they saw this white-haired girl fluffing up her pillow. </p>
<p>“Now there’s a scary thought,” Yang muttered and then shuddered. “I’ve been watching her all day. What a bitch, she hasn’t been nice to anyone!”</p>
<p>“Well, that’s the Schnees for you,” Blake, the black-haired girl from earlier said, her voice a sneer. “Bet she’s all Daddy’s Perfect Little Princess, isn’t she? Never mind the fact that the Schnees are known for their controversial labor practices…”</p>
<p>“Oh great, so we’ve got an heiress?” Yang groaned. “Just what I needed to really kill the mood. And here I was perfectly content to eye all the nice boys! Now I’ll have the Ice Queen spoiling the view!”</p>
<p>“Yeah, dad would so approve of that,” Ruby deadpanned. “I can see it now, him putting up a wall between you and just about everyone else. Hammer, nails, bricks and mortar and all!”</p>
<p>“Well, dad’s not here is he?” Yang remarked. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him!”</p>
<p>Ruby tossed another glance back to Weiss, as she would later learn her name was. “It’s just… maybe it’s just me, but when I look at her, she seems so… lonely, her eyes. They look so sad…”</p>
<p>“Don’t let your imagination run away with you,” Blake sighed. “You’re just projecting. You’d be better off not associating with a Schnee. Trust me, it’s better for you that way. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my book. Which I will continue to read. Alone. As soon as you two leave.”</p>
<p>“Don’t bother with her Rubes,” Yang sighed. “This one’s a lost cause. You’ve got Jaune and P-Money right? Shouldn’t that be enough?”</p>
<p>Ruby leaned over Blake’s shoulder. “I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters... They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress!”</p>
<p>Blake laughed a little. Shaking her head, she asked: “And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?”</p>
<p>“Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!” Ruby declared.</p>
<p>“That's... very ambitious for a child,” Blake said with an almost admiring tone. Her frown returned. “And so very idealistic. Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale. It’s much… messier, uglier.”</p>
<p>“Well, I’ll have to prove you wrong, Ms. Frowny McFrownface,” Ruby said poking Blake in the chest. “Well, that's why we're here! To make it better. Just you watch! I’ll make sure we all get our happy ever afters!”</p>
<p>Jaune had overheard a part of this, and smiled to himself. <em> “So just like me then? Huh. Maybe… maybe she’d make a good candidate for these powers, instead of a screwup like me. I didn’t even get into Beacon via my own merits! I forged my transcripts! What would Ruby, what would Pyrrha say if it ever got out? They’d be ashamed and disgusted with me, I’d imagine. The only real skills I got aren’t even my own… I can only copy the abilities of true heroes, the Kamen Riders. God, I’m…” </em></p>
<p>Whatever he had to say next was cut off. Pyrrha laid a hand on his shoulder. “You alright? You looked kinda down for a moment there.”</p>
<p>“Sorry, it’s just…” Jaune started, and a brief moment of hesitation. What should he tell her? Could she even possibly imagine what powers he held? What legacy he was supposed to carry? The power of the Destroyer of Worlds? Tsukasa told him his task, that one day he would walk into a world that had gone mad beyond repair. Maybe a world of zombies, or maybe one ruled by a mad tyrant. A world so horrible, with the population suffering so greatly that the only mercy for it and them would be their destruction and starting anew.</p>
<p>“It’s Ruby isn’t it?” Pyrrha asked. “Yeah, I overheard that as well. I’m actually sorta envious, that’s a… unique outlook on the world. Very heroic. Does make you want to follow after her a bit, I guess…”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m just worried,” Jaune said letting a little bit of his mask slip. “I kinda want to become a true hero myself, and yet… I’m not sure I can live up to that kinda example. In fact, I…”</p>
<p>Whatever he had to say next was cut off as he saw something moving outside. A shadowed form, moving outside in the gardens. Pyrrha picked up on her new friend’s sudden nervousness. “What is it? What’s the matter?”</p>
<p>“Something’s outside, or someone,” Jaune said as he started to head for the door. “I’m going to go check it out. Pyrrha, go find a teacher!”</p>
<p>“I… I’ll do that. Just be careful, okay Jaune?” Pyrrha asked. “Don’t do anything reckless!”</p>
<p>Mercury had a sneaking suspicion that this new ‘Kamen Rider’ had to be a student at one of the major schools. He had to live in Vale given how soon he showed, and that meant whoever this Decade was he went to Beacon. Question was, who was the guy? If it was even a guy. He’d never seen a semblance quite like Decade’s before, allowing someone to change into several armored warriors. Interesting. Maybe part of that allowed them to disguise their voice.</p>
<p>“You know, you could send off all sorts of vibes prowling the grounds like this,” came a familiar voice. Mercury smirked. Perfect, just the man he was looking for! “What are you, some sort of pedo?”</p>
<p>“What, no! Eww, that’s disgusting!” Mercury shouted.</p>
<p>“Coulda fooled me!” Decade said. “What, you a glutton for punishment or something? Cause I could have sworn I sent you running last time…”</p>
<p>“Pfffft, yeah right!” Mercury said snidely. “I seem to recall differently. Only reason I ran is because I didn’t want to get caught by the cops. I was trouncing your sorry ass up till about then!”</p>
<p>“So, what do you want?” Decade asked as he drew his sword. “You here for the teachers? You a spy from another school, trying to figure out how we work?”</p>
<p>Too late Jaune realized he’d said too much.</p>
<p>“Oh, so I was right,” Mercury grinned evilly as he readied himself for battle. “You are a student, well that narrows things down a bit doesn’t it? Thanks for confirming that.”</p>
<p>Decade swore under his breath. “No matter, I’ll still send you packing! Maybe knock you around enough that you won’t remember a thing!”</p>
<p>“You can try!” Mercury said and with a sound like a gunshot -exactly like a gunshot- he was off. Decade’s eyes widened under his helmet, and he just barely reacted. But a reaction all the same, and grabbed Mercury and flipped him head over heel slamming him into the ground. Mercury quickly recovered and aimed a powerful kick at Decade’s helmet.</p>
<p>Decade stepped back only to get walloped in the stomach by another powerful kick. He staggered, dazed. Mercury headbutted him.</p>
<p>“And here I thought you were this hero of justice!” the gray-haired kickboxer mocked. “How can you protect the innocent if you can’t even protect yourself? Wow, I heard Beacon’s students were the best, guess standards must have <em> really </em>gone downhill since I was last here!”</p>
<p>“You… you were a student here?” Decade asked blocking a kick with his sword blade. </p>
<p>“Oh yeah, course I was!” Mercury said. “Expelled, of course, meaning I never got my Huntsman license. But I learned enough!”</p>
<p>Decade switched from sword to gun, and slipped a card inside his weapon. Multiple shots were fired off, each hitting Mercury with dead-on accuracy. “Well then, guess it’s my job as a student of Beacon to show you how much we’ve improved since your day!” Decade challenged.</p>
<p>“So you can fight!” Mercury laughed. “And here I thought beating you into the ground wasn’t going to be any fun!”</p>
<p>Flipping in midair, another shell was discharged from his boots and a kick was aimed directly at Decade. It probably would have cracked open Decade’s helmet and exposed his identity straight to the world had a shield not knocked Mercury to the floor. Spinning, the shield returned to the hands of its owner. </p>
<p>“...Oh crap,” Mercury muttered as he saw Pyrrha and Professor Goodwitch walking up. Pyrrha changed her spear to a long-ranged rifle as Goodwitch summoned lightning bolts to drive Mercury off. As he fled, Mercury let out a shout of: “Another time!”</p>
<p>“To think that someone could sneak in like this…” Goodwitch said. “It seems I’ll have to talk with the headmaster about upping the security. And who might you be?”</p>
<p>“Jaune?” Pyrrha asked eyes wide in fear. Jaune’s heart ached, was she really that worried about him? “Where’s Jaune? Jaune?” she continued calling.</p>
<p>“Yes, where is young Mister Arc?” Goodwitch asked, hands on hips. </p>
<p>“I, uh, spurred him to safety. I think you’ll find Jaune is back with the other students!” Jaune quickly lied. “As for who I am? I’m… I’d guess you’d call me Beacon’s own personal guardian.”</p>
<p>“Oh really?” Goodwitch asked. “Is that who you are?”</p>
<p>“I’m just a passing through Kamen Rider,” Jaune said unknowingly quoting his predecessor. “Think nothing of it. And I guess that means it’s time to pass on out of here? Uh… bye?” he said nervously, waving before sprinting off leaving behind two very bewildered huntresses. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>---------</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sleep did not come easy that night, as memories returned. Mistral, late one night a few years ago…</p>
<p>
  <em> Jaune was fourteen, taking a short walk away from the house. The city, for the most part, was a safe spot. Grimm had never gotten in, and Argus was a well-protected if not somewhat lonely locale. Yes, the Mistral line connected it with the rest of the kingdom but for the most part, they did their own thing. They were their own little place in the world. </em>
  <em>To be honest, the only male of seven sisters needed a bit of peace and quiet from time to time. It was… well, chaos in the Arc household at the moment, as it was every night. Sisters shouting over everyone else, as his parents tried to maintain order. Saphron, to her credit honestly tried to help her mom and dad keep order in the large household, but it was no easy task. Jaune had a sneaking suspicion -shared by Saphron, actually- that there was rabbit faunus DNA somewhere in his family tree. If that was the case, neither his mother nor his father had said much of it.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> In any event, he’d managed to find his way to a nearby park. The air was cool and dry that night, the summer winds blowing off the sea. The sounds of horns echoed in the distance, boats calling out to each other in a cacophony of noise. Jaune didn’t mind actually, the sounds of the city were soothing in some respects. Maybe this was poetic of him or something, but they reminded him of the fact that the world was still turning.  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Jaune wasn’t sure when he decided he wanted to be a huntsman. Maybe it was early in life, when his mom read him all those old stories, about huntsmen being heroes to all. He wanted to be a hero. It was a thinly disguised fact that outside the city walls, in the wilderness horrors lurked. Yes, Remnant was a wonderful place, but not all that glittered was always gold. Adventuring was not for the weary, as out there in the deep and dark woods lurked terrors to freeze your soul. It was a dangerous life, Jaune knew, not for the timid.  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> But that still didn’t stop him from wanting the life. Maybe he was crazily suicidal or something, but he wanted to be out there. Like seriously wanted. Growing up with stories of the Arc family’s many deeds may have helped that along. And many daring deeds there were, given his great-grandfather was a war hero. Plus, there were his sisters. Jaune always got the last pick of things, being one of the youngest in his family. He wanted to… stand out. His mother was a successful author, his oldest sister was a master baker and two of his other sisters had their own gaming company. It really didn’t do wonders for one’s self-confidence when you kept hearing how great the rest of your family was. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> So yeah, maybe not crazily suicidal. Just clearly desperate to be recognized. Oh well, at least huntsmen got good pay. Which was fair enough, Jaune supposed. If you were out there risking life and limb with Brothers only knew what, you’d better get a good cut! Then, he was distracted from his musings by a sound. A groan of pain, and it sounded as if it was nearby. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Jaune nervously followed the sound, and what he found he didn’t exactly expect. A man, dressed in half-destroyed magenta armor, and covered in blood. Scorch marks dotted the armor, bite marks as well. A good portion of the coat had been torn away by massive jaws, and a half-shattered helmet barely covered a face. Images dotted the armor, some barely visible. Warriors of times long since past.  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “H-Hey, you alright?” Jaune asked and groaned. Of course he wasn’t alright! “C-Can you stand? What happened?” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Blood was spat in Jaune’s face. “A witch…” the man said with his accent thick and heavy. “Arrived in her territory, looked like hell actually. Bubbling broiling pits. Clearly, she wasn’t too pleased with my arrival…” he joked. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “A… a witch?” Jaune asked, his voice a stammer. “Come on, I’ll get you to a hospital.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “Doubt a hospital can help me now blondie. Where am I anyways? If I’m going to die, I might as well know where,” the man said. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “No, you’re not going to die! Not if I have anything to say about it,” Jaune said reaching for his pockets and fumbling around for his scroll. “Come on, come on… where are you?” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “You really think you can save me, can’t you?” the man asked. “Imagine… me, Tsukasa Kadoya felled by some crazy-ass witch!” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “Well, Argus has some of the best medical centers around the world…” Jaune mumbled. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “Okay, so Argus then. Rats, I was hoping it was Tokyo, I was born there. I might as well die there. Huh, oh well, at least Brave and Ex-Aid don’t have to watch a fellow Kamen Rider die on their operating table… Small mercies, maybe?” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “You’re not going to die!” Jaune repeated. “Stop saying that. I promise you, I will save you!” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “Tch. I don't know what it is about you kid. Maybe losing all this blood is doing something to me. Making me go crazy or something. But there's something about you kid. Hell, maybe it's true. Maybe those… best inclined to power are those who don't seek it.” the man said reaching for his belt. Taking it off, the armor vanished. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “What… what are you saying?” Jaune stammered whispering soft little ‘no’s under his breath. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  “I'm saying… well, you know what I'm saying. There must always be a destroyer of worlds. Be the next Decade!” the man said before he expired, the belt clattering to the pavement. That’s where they found Jaune. He’d been sitting there, whispering how he could have saved Tsukasa. His parents took him to various psychiatrists over the years, saying it was never his fault. But Jaune knew it was. And he also knew he had to carry on this man’s legacy. He had to become Decade. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---------</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m telling you, he hit like a truck!” Mercury said to Cinder that next morning. “Like seriously, a goddamn truck!”</p>
<p>“You must have been off your game,” Emerald said with a roll of her eyes. “Either that, or you’re just simply not as good as you think you are.”</p>
<p>“Hey, what did you say?” Mercury snarled. “Oh, if you want a demonstration of just how good I am, we can go right here and right now!”</p>
<p>“Enough!” Cinder barked, her eyes glowing and the temperature in the room seemingly growing much hotter. Both Mercury and Emerald took a step back in fear. “That’s better. Mercury, you’ve endangered the scenario by getting this close to Beacon. Now they know your face.”</p>
<p>“Everyone knows my face. I’m a wanted man, so?” Mercury asked. “I never would be able to participate in your little plan anyways, given Ozpin would recognize me in a second!”</p>
<p>“Illusions can be crafted,” Cinder said. “Disguises can be made. We’ll just have to be extra careful from now on. Still, this… Decade, did you say he was? He’s an unexpected little hitch.”</p>
<p>“Just a bump in the road,” Emerald remarked. “He’s hardly a pothole, Lady Cinder.”</p>
<p>“Not from what Roman described,” Cinder disagreed. “If we have someone with these kinds of abilities, we have a very large problem. From what Roman described, Decade’s semblance is more than just a semblance. A semblance can’t mimic this many abilities or do the things this Decade can do. No, this is magic, plain and simple.”</p>
<p>“Like, as in…” Emerald started her voice catching in her throat. “Are you saying we’re dealing with one of <em> them? </em>A Maiden? But… but I thought Vale’s Maiden was…”</p>
<p>“Assuming Decade’s even from Vale,” Mercury muttered. “I may have to revise my earlier assessment. It’s obvious they’re a student at Beacon, they even confirmed it. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they <em> came </em>from Vale originally. Think I heard a trace of a Mistralian accent…”</p>
<p>“Then that just means we’ll have to revise our plans,” Cinder said. “If this Decade really is a Maiden, then we’ll just have to factor that into our plans. Isolate Decade. For the most part, we’ll continue as normal though. Vale <em> must </em> fall, and the Grimm must invade.”</p>
<p>“Wait, what about these Silver-Eyed Warriors we were told about?” Mercury asked. “Forgive me if I speak out of turn, but what if one still exists? It’s passed down from parent to child, right? How do we know one of them didn’t have some kid somewhere?”</p>
<p>“Nonsense,” Cinder spat. “Those bloodlines were exterminated to the last! The Grimm Reaper’s an old woman, broken and feeble. Not even she can stop us now!”</p>
<p>“If you say so…” Mercury muttered. Far and away, unaware that a plot against Vale and Beacon was developing, life continued on as normal. The start of a new year, and Initiation Day. One set of friends was waking up to their first day at the prestigious academy unaware of what their future held…</p>
<p>“I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full twenty-four hours! Not that I thought we'd get kicked out or anything, I mean, you're the perfect student and I'm... well, I'm <em> me! </em> But it's just crazy, you know?”</p>
<p>Nora Valkyrie, everyone. Her friend, Lie Ren sat silently, the only sounds he made being the tightening of his sleeping bag, and then the whirr of a toothbrush. Then a chuckle. Nora meanwhile, continued to babble. “We've been friends for <em> soooooooo </em> long! What are the odds we'd still be together? Well, not ‘together-together…’ Not that I'm not saying that you're not handsome; you are handsome, but that'd just be weird, right?”</p>
<p>Unaware to them, a security camera watched their every movement. Qrow looked on, ignoring the hangover that was currently a bitch and a half. He tossed a glance towards Ozpin.</p>
<p>“Well, you’re quite the little spy aren’t you Headmaster?” Qrow drawled. “Makes you wonder what the parents would say!”</p>
<p>“Yes, well, I thought it best to step up the security from last night’s little incident,” Ozpin said. “Believe me, I don’t like it either but someone let our former friend Mister Black inside the grounds.”</p>
<p>“So you thinking we have a mole?” Qrow said. “Yeah, that fits. I’m more curious as to <em> why </em>this Black character was even on the grounds to begin with!”</p>
<p>“Salem sent him, no doubt,” Ozpin stated. “Clearly she’s afraid. She has moles in every academy, searching for the last of the Silver-Eyed Warriors.”</p>
<p>“Well, that’s… comforting,” Qrow said wondering if it was too early in the morning not to go for a drink. “So, guess that means the battle’s begun.”</p>
<p>“Not yet it hasn’t,” Ozpin disagreed. “And if I have my way, it never will. At least, not here. Not in Beacon. We’ll have to root out the mole before that happens. That is why, Qrow, or should I say Professor Branwen I need you here.”</p>
<p>Yep, there went the hangover. Qrow shot up straight in almost an instant. “P-Professor? Me?” Qrow spat out in shock. “Ozpin, please tell me you’ve finally gone senile. You of all people know I’m the worst person to be around children! Hell, I can barely stay with my nieces for any amount of time!”</p>
<p>“As I said before, we all make our own luck,” Ozpin said calmly. “I’m confident you can make yours.”</p>
<p>“Be that as it may, don’t you need me out in the field?” Qrow asked. Ozpin raised up a hand to stop him.</p>
<p>“I have plenty of spymasters,” Ozpin said. “I need you here, Professor, and that’s final. You’re the best shot I have at rooting out this mole. And think of it this way, you get to spend more time with your nieces, give them this unexpected little surprise.”</p>
<p>“Well, when you put it that way…” Qrow mused before grumbling: “Suppose I’ll have to get a suit…”</p>
<p>“So, about this Decade,” Glynda said as she spoke up for the first time. “You really think he’s all that he claims to be, a guardian of Beacon?”</p>
<p>“You didn’t hear him, Goodwitch,” Qrow said. “He was all ‘when the innocent cry out…’ and such. This guy’s as corny as they come, going all ‘or great justice’ and all that. Yeah, I’d say he’s the real deal. But something tells me we’ve only seen a hint of his true power…”</p>
<p>“That makes me feel so much better…” Glynda murmured. In the cafeteria, Nora was scarfing down pancakes, as passersby looked on with equal amounts of disgust and fascination. </p>
<p>“...Right! What was I thinking? But still, I hope we end up on the same team together!” Nora asked as she wolfed down the pancakes, practically slurping up the last one. “Oohhhh! We should come up with some sort of plan, to make sure we end up on the same team together! What if we bribe the headmaster? No, that won't work. He has the school so…”</p>
<p>Ren looked up from his food. “I was just thinking to let the pieces fall where they may, actually.”</p>
<p><b> <em>“WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!?!” </em> </b>Nora bellowed, the shout shaking the school, glass shattering and birds taking flight. As for poor Ren, he’d been sent flying to the other end of the cafeteria. Nora laughed nervously. “...Um, oops?”</p>
<p>Up in the headmaster’s office, Glynda and Ozpin shared a look. Yes, there was definitely an interesting batch of students this year. What they didn’t notice was another student, merrily skipping through the halls, her pigtails swinging every which way. Briefly, her eyes flickered from a dark green to one brown and one pink. Far and away, a mysterious building appeared in the streets of Vale reading: ‘Hikari Studios’ on the front door…</p>
<p>After Ren’s recovery, Nora still continued to babble quite intent on figuring out a way to get her best friend on her team. “I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal!” she said before letting out a gasp. “A secret signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a sloth?”</p>
<p>“Nora?” Ren finally spoke again. “Sloths don’t talk. Secondly, just because we don’t end up on the same team together doesn’t mean we won’t always stay friends.”</p>
<p>“If you say so, it’s just…” Nora murmured before booping Ren on the nose. For a moment, a brief moment she considered saying <em> it </em>, but then her nerves got the better of her.  “Boop.”</p>
<p>Ren chuckled to himself before heading out. “She’s… energetic isn’t she?” Jaune asked him. </p>
<p>“Nora’s… well, Nora. There’s no other way to explain it,” Ren said. “There’s nobody else quite like her really.”</p>
<p>“That’s… interesting,” Jaune said before his eyes widened. He quickly made a verbal backtrack. “N-Not that’s there’s anything wrong with that. I’m not saying interesting in a bad way, I-I’m saying it in a good way, y’know?”</p>
<p>“Yes, I do know,” Ren replied simply before he noticed something. “Your Aura. I can’t sense it. It’s… it’s not unlocked yet is it?”</p>
<p>“Um, yes, well… that would be a…” Jaune said before he hung his head. “Was I that obvious?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Ren said simply. “No matter. It’s a simple enough task. Will you allow me?”</p>
<p>“Um… Um, sure!” Jaune stammered. “Thanks!”</p>
<p>“Think nothing of it,” Ren replied before raising his hands, and they began to glow. And as he spoke, Jaune began to glow as well, feeling a certain power beginning to rise and build. It felt warm, comforting. He felt like he couldn’t lose! “For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee.”</p>
<p>Jaune felt the new ripples of power flow through his body, and his eyes widened. He felt… stronger, yeah he definitely felt much stronger. He felt as if he could take on that gray-haired guy and send him flying to the next kingdom. He felt like nothing in the world could stop him now! “...wow…” he breathed.<br/><br/>“Interesting,” Ren observed. “Never seen that sort of reaction before. You’ve got the most aura I’ve ever seen, interesting. You’d make for a very formidable opponent in battle, once you get the proper training. It was an honor to unlock your Aura.”</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Pyrrha said in passing. “Hope to see you later, Jaune! Who knows, maybe we’ll wind up together!”</p>
<p>Jaune laughed nervously, running a hand through his golden locks. “Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quickly! Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you. What do you say?” he said to Ren. His fellow student chuckled.</p>
<p>“I’ll see how things work out, see how the dominos fall,” Ren said. “Pleasure to meet you. Lie Ren.”</p>
<p>“Jaune Arc, simple and rolls off the tongue doesn’t it?” Jaune asked and Ren chuckled. Jaune sighed and hung his head. “...I really need a new catchphrase don’t I?”</p>
<p>Ren nodded. Meanwhile, Nora sat in the background observing the interactions between Jaune and Pyrrha. Now that was interesting. It seemed the spartan had a little crushie crushie on the knight. Interesting. Very interesting. Now, she <em> could </em>just let it be, but that wouldn’t be very womanly of her, leaving someone hanging like that! So, that settled it then. Nora Valkyrie was a huntswoman on a mission. Nora Valkyrie, the shipper. If she couldn’t end up together-together with Ren, well she could settle for helping these two lovebird ehs? Shipper Nora Mode, engage!</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So yeah, things are moving faster than normal, and plans are accelerating and changing. Decade's influence is starting to worm it's way into matters. Speaking of Decade, now I'm sorry I didn't show his last bout, but the way I framed the flashback it wouldn't have worked. What, would Jaune have just have stumbled upon Tsukasa fighting his killer, you know as you do? Yeah, it just wouldn't have worked.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Initiation Day Part 1: There's a Jaune in the Woods</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b> <em>A few days ago...</em> </b>
</p><p><em> “Every world has it’s revolutionaries,” </em> mused Daiki Kaito AKA Kamen Rider DiEnd. He wasn’t entirely sure how really but he’d found himself at a rally of… animal people? They cried for peace and harmony, but Daiki knew better, he could see the blood in their eyes. <em> “Oh lovely, I should probably duck and cover before things turn… violent.” </em></p><p>Then again, the Phantom Thief mused, where was the fun in that? He always did love the challenge. Plus, that sword the guy in the mask carried looked <em> awfully </em> tempting. While he doubted it was this world’s treasure… well, Daiki knew a good steal when he saw it. After all, he was the phantom thief. Hah, not even that fool Kamen Rider Lupin measured up. Mind you, he didn’t want to be the one to have to fire the first shot. This crowd was easily stirred up, he could sense. What did they call themselves again? Faunus?<br/><br/>Made sense he supposed, though that one guy in the mask really was trying out for edgelord of the year. Red hair, with an all black uniform? Terrible, just terrible. He struggled to think of another person he knew who performed that much of a crime against fashion. Well, maybe Parado he supposed. But Parado was a goofball. This man right here? He screamed, like seriously screamed whiney teenage edgelord. Not rebel without a cause, more like rebel without a clue.</p><p>Daiki caught a name. Adam, huh? Like the first man? Okay then. Funny considering this ‘Adam’ was a bull. Oh please oh please don’t let his name go to his head, Daiki thought. Then again, the Phantom Thief mused that ship had probably already sailed. </p><p>Oh well, when this whole rally was over, and this ‘Adam’ picked up and moved on Daiki would sneak in and do his work. He supposed he <em> could </em> use his Time Jacker abilities but… ever since the death of Swartz and the splitting of the Rider Worlds he’d found his powers had been fading. So he had to use them sparely. Not that DiEnd minded actually losing his abilities, he hated time travel anyways and the whole time stoppage bit really removed the whole challenge out of things.<br/><br/>Daiki, at times did wonder if he could create Anotherwatches. He supposed he could, in theory given he had all the other Time Jacker powers. But quite honestly, after his experience as Another ZI-O II -not to mention that incident with Another DiEnd- his opinion had been soured.</p><p>Speaking of Time Jackers, he really hadn’t seen Tsukasa since that whole thing. Shame really, he always managed to liven up the day. Had he started eating sea cucumbers yet? Maybe. Or maybe not. Daiki didn’t really know. Daiki did, however, have one of those sickening feelings. He’d had it a few times before, usually before something really nasty had happened. It happened with Chinomanako DiEnd and then with the whole Shadow Moon thing. Usually this feeling meant it was time to run and find the fastest way out of this world. Run, before he decided to play hero. Daiki hated playing hero. It really didn’t mesh well with his whole super-cool phantom thief thing that he had going on.</p><p>That’s why when Daiki had found the shattered remains of Tsukasa’s K-Touch, well… His stomach churned. If something had destroyed <em> that </em>then well… Best not to think about it, DiEnd mused to himself. Uh-oh. There went the crowd, really. Yeah, Adam had really stirred them up, and now they were marching on some local government buildings. So yeah, definitely not activists. Terrorists then. </p><p>Daiki hated terrorists. He amended his previous statement. It would be a pleasure to relieve Adam of his sword. Treasure or no treasure. Whiney teen edgelord drama queen bull boy didn’t need another weapon. This would be a challenge… possibly. For all he knew these White Fang idiots could have been about as skilled as Riotroopers. Still, those rifles they held looked like they’d probably sting a little. Daiki went for his gun? Should he? Would he? These thoughts ran through his head like a flood. The blood was already a frenzy in this crowd, him transforming would not help matters. Then again, if he didn’t transform now there would be death.<br/><br/>Ugh, this was why Daiki hated getting involved really. So much for his phantom thief type thing that he had going on. What would Tsukasa do? Oh, that was a stupid question really. He’d get involved, claimed he was just passing through before he kicked everyone’s sorry asses. Sometimes he envied Tsukasa for being so… heroic and loving it. Sometimes. He didn’t want the whole Destroyer of Worlds burden, really. </p><p>He really laughed at Swartz. Honestly, the man had <em> tried </em>really but nobody could ever replace Tsukasa. Plus, he messed with Oma Zi-O, the one person even Daiki wouldn’t try and steal from. Geiz had balls, he would give the red rider that. But really, Swartz had made a pretty horrible Decade. Daiki knew that if Tsukasa and Swartz had ever really faced off, well… Daiki knew who he’d be betting on. </p><p>But Tsukasa wasn’t here now, and so that left the heroism for the day up to him. Hah! Looks like he was stealing Tsukasa’s duties, Daiki thought with a grin. Maybe he should steal the whole catchphrase too! Yeah, that sounded nice.</p><p>So, yeah. Stealing from a terrorist and dismantling an attack. That was Daiki’s day now. He’d take the gold and silver, -or whatever this planet used- upfront right now please. Hey, heroism didn’t pay the bills! So sue him! Maybe that sword would pay good cash after it was melted down. It looked to be made of good material. Hmm, maybe Daiki would relieve this Adam character of his mask as well. There was only room for one masked person around here and it certainly wasn’t him! If Adam wanted to play the Rider game, he had to try harder. Probably be more heroic too while he was at it. Anyways, one for the money -definitely for the money- two for the show and three… Time to go!</p><p>A slow clap cut through the air, and Adam and his cultist followers turned. Because really, anyone who wore masks looking like animal skulls had to be part of a cult!</p><p>“Very impressive,” Daiki remarked. “So, uh, is this a private party or can anyone join?”</p><p>“Who are you?” Whiney teen edgelord drama queen bull boy asked. “You’re not with the police are you?”</p><p>“Don’t <em> even </em> joke about that,” Daiki said in disgust. “Really, now you’re just <em> asking </em>for me to rip that ugly mask of yours off your face, bull boy.”</p><p>Several rifles were pointed at him. “Leave now or…” Whiney teen edgelord drama queen bull boy started. Yes, Daiki was calling him that now. Take it or leave it.</p><p>“Get shot?” Daiki asked forcing one of the weapons down with his hand. “Oh yes, that’s how you show the world you’re so peaceful. I thought revolutions were supposed to be civilized?” </p><p>“I tried civility,” Ad… sorry, you know replied. “Turns out, surprise surprise, it doesn’t work. I’m going to ask one final time, who are you?”</p><p>“Just passing through, that’s all,” Daiki said with a wily smirk. He vaguely wondered why this batch of misanthropes hadn’t attacked yet. Oh, he then realized. The fox ears he now bore atop his head probably had something to do with that. “You wouldn’t want to hurt a fellow faunus would you? I think that would go against your whole creed or something. I don’t know. Then again, please do attack me. Watch what happens, there’s a crowd beginning to gather right?”</p><p>Sure enough, this was happening exactly as Daiki was telling it. People and neutral faunus alike began to peek their heads out of their homes. They watched this lone man challenge Adam. Rip him a verbal new one. Wondered whether if it was bravery or stupidity that drove him.</p><p>“Your point?” Adam asked, starting to look a little panicked. </p><p>“Wonder what they’d think of you if you started targeting fellow faunus. You’re all about the faunus right?” Daiki asked. “It would <em> really </em>ruin your credibility if you attacked your own race. Then again, I guess everyone is equal in death… Not that I plan to die of course!”</p><p>“That’s it!” Adam snarled and with a bellow like a bull -exactly like a bull- he charged. “If you plan to die stupid, then so die stupid!”</p><p>Daiki saw the attack coming, and grabbed Adam by the arm. Flipping over the bull-man, he knocked him into the muddied ground with a boot to the back. Adam looked up, his attire now dripping mud and saw red. He slashed forwards and Daiki stepped back to avoid the strike. “See, now you’re just starting to annoy me. If you wanted to make friends, this isn’t the way to do it!” Daiki taunted sorely fighting back the urge to shout ole. “I like making friends, and I’m sure a rebel leader needs his friends!”</p><p>“SHUT UP!” Adam shouted. Daiki caught the punch with ease. </p><p>“Oh please… if this is the best you have I really fear for your revolution’s future,” the Rider muttered. He gasped. “Oh wait, now I know why you attack me so! You’re head over heels for me, and you just can’t accept that!”</p><p>He dodged another slash and then another. Daiki snorted. Easiest fight ever, taking that sword from Edgebull would be a breeze. Then Daiki’s eyes widened as Adam slammed his sword into his scabbard, he’d seen enough anime to know where this was going. Except… it didn’t go the way Daiki thought. No moment of him being sliced to ribbons in a show of blood and gore. Instead, the scabbard and sword shifted to become a rifle. Daiki rolled to avoid the shots, and then kicked mud into Adam’s face.</p><p>Shooting the gun out of Adam’s hands, he watched as the bull faunus let out a scream of pain. The cultists closed in. Daiki eyed the numbers. While he was <em> sure </em> he could handle these fools driver or not, it was better not to take chances. Wait, was that a chainsaw?<br/><br/>Daiki leaped upwards into a roof with ninja-like agility. Hah, seems getting that Hattari fellow to teach him a few things came in handy. Even <em> if </em> that idiot thought only with his dick.</p><p>Slotting a card into his gun, Daiki fired and felt the familiar warmth and power wash over him. Now in his ‘work attire’, Kamen Rider DiEnd fired into the gathering riflemen. Blood flew as several headshots were scored, bodies hitting the ground with thuds. Adam’s hands were bleeding, Daiki noted. Shrapnel really didn’t do well for your ability to put the finger on the trigger. Daiki knew he’d caught the White Fang off guard with his sudden transformation, that’s why he’d gotten so many good kills. Now it would be tricky. Then came the chainsaw guy.</p><p>Daiki held him back with one of his gauntlets, but he knew it would only be a matter of time before his armor was breached. Time to even the odds. He shot the armored man in the chest. No damage, as expected but he was now free to really let loose. And for Daiki, that meant summoning help. Slipping a Rider Card into his driver, he fired and now Kamen Rider Todoroki joined the fray to a chorus of gasps.</p><p><em> “Yes, I know I’m awesome!” </em> Daiki said as Todoroki forced the Fang back with a wave of sound. <em> “No need to thank me!”  </em></p><p>Kirameki was soon to follow his fellow Oni Rider. Several slams of the cymbals, and the White Fang chainsaw slasher villain guy went flying. Ongeki Hyō: Keichō Fubaku. Never failed. Well, at least that’s what DiEnd had heard. Then came a roar, Adam again. Daiki’s eyes widened under his helmet. Wow, he really had underestimated him. He was stupider than he thought!</p><p>But then, even as Kirameki and Todoroki sent more soundwaves at Adam, the man seemed to… wait, was he absorbing it? Oh no. He had to get himself dropped into a world with superpowers, Daiki sighed. True to form, the energy Adam had absorbed was sent in a searing slash right towards our favorite phantom thief. Daiki rolled backwards and groaned in pain. Todoroki and Kirameki were recalled, and Brave was sent into battle.</p><p>“Stop hiding behind your servants, and fight me for real!”</p><p>“Wait, isn’t the whole hiding thing your shtick?” Daiki taunted as one slash from Brave disarmed Adam, sending the sword flying from his hands. It impaled itself in a nearby wall. “So you would know!”</p><p>Daiki dodged the punch, and ripped the sword out of the wall. With a little wave, Daiki vanished behind a dimensional wall. Another successful treasure for him, and as a bonus a terrorist stopped. Hmm, maybe he could do this better than Tsukasa, DiEnd thought with a chuckle even as Adam’s screams of rage faded away…</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p><em> “Okay, so Aura unlocked. Check. New friends? Check. Possible teammate? Check. Newly reforged weapons…? Not checked.” </em>Jaune thought as he was directed outside the school. Then, he heard the rapid sound of footsteps and turned around just in time to be barreled over by Ruby Rose.</p><p>“Um…, I guess good morning sleepyhead?” Ruby asked. Jaune faintly noticed the sound of someone giggling. Then someone snickering. Pyrrha was doing the giggling, the Schnee was doing the snickering. Jaune’s weapons laid off to the si… Um, okay, wow were those his weapons?</p><p>“Good morning to you Barrel Over,” Jaune joked and Ruby blinked as the two picked themselves up off the ground.</p><p>“Barrel Over?” Ruby asked before she realized. Pointing at Jaune, she asked: “Waaaaaaiiiittttt, is this revenge for the whole Vomit Boy thing?”</p><p>“Well, um, yeah the way I figure it, if you can call me Vomit Boy then I get to call you Barrel Over,” Jaune reaffirmed. Ruby gave a little shrug, as if to say ‘fair enough’ before replying.</p><p>“So what’s Pyrrha’s nickname then?” Ruby asked.</p><p>“Um… you know, uh…” Jaune stammered as he flushed red. “I think I’ll get back to you on that when I come up with one!”</p><p>“I’m partial to P-Money myself,” Pyrrha offered with a small smile to herself. So was this what having actual friends was like, she wondered. If so, it felt… nice. Really nice. </p><p>“Then P-Money it is!” Ruby declared. And Pyrrha beamed.</p><p>“You’re all dolts, the whole lot of you,” Schnee muttered to herself as she passed by.</p><p>“W-Well, who asked you?” Ruby stammered Jaune awkwardly giving her a supportive pat on the shoulder. “O-Oh, anyways, well Jaune I woke up super extra early this morning and decided to work on your sword and shield!”</p><p>“Oh, so that’s why they look so different,” Jaune mumbled awkwardly to himself. “B-But shouldn’t you have brought me along just so you could figure out how to balance them better?”</p><p>“Psssssssh, no big. I’m super good with weapons, and analyzing a person, at least when it comes to, y’know, weapons!” Ruby declared as Jaune tested Crocea Mors by giving it a few swings, and to his surprise, it felt noticeably lighter and easier to wield. “Plus, you know, I didn’t, uh, want to wake you up! Now, added a dust chamber -we'll get the crystals later- and now you can augment your sword with the power of the elements themselves! Muwhahahahahahaha!"</p><p>“T-Thanks…” Jaune mumbled again even as Ruby continued her mad scientist laughter.</p><p>“Awww, anything to help a fellow student in need, and possible future teammate as well! See, Yang, I did listen to you when you said to make ‘connections’!” Ruby said. “Now start speaking up! Nobody will be able to hear you and make friends with you if you don’t make yourself heard!”</p><p>“So, um,” Jaune asked as they followed Professor Ozpin outside. “Do you know how they pick teammates or anything?”<br/><br/>“Nope, sorry!” Ruby replied popping the p. “I’m just as much in the dark as you. Not that I’m <em> worried </em> or anything. Really! Besides, today I get to let my sweetheart do the talking!”</p><p>Now they were outside on a cliff, each student standing on sort of metal title. Miles and miles of wilderness stretched out before them. Ozpin cleared his throat before speaking. “For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest.”</p><p>Glynda spoke next. “Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of ‘teams.’ Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today,” she said and Ruby’s jaw dropped and she let out a small squeak. Pyrrha put a supportive hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile. “These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well.”</p><p>Ruby let out a distinctive groan.</p><p>“That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years,” Ozpin added and Ruby’s whole world shattered. What... what if she didn't make eye contact with Vomit Boy or P-Money? Nora, off to her left was beaming smugly at Ren who sighed in resignation. Jaune meanwhile was slowly realizing something. Landing? What did they mean by landing? He looked out to the forest and then at the silver pad beneath his feet. Oh. Oh no.</p><p>“After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you <em> will </em> die,” Ozpin continued on. Off to Jaune’s left, Yang was as cocky as ever -Jaune wished he shared her confidence- and was even putting on a pair of aviators to boot! “You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?”</p><p>No questions. And then came the moment of truth as Jaune continued to let out mutters of ‘oh no’ which swiftly turned into screams.</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p><em> “No no no no no no no no no no no no!” </em> Jaune thought frantically to himself as he was sent soaring over the timberlands, what seemed like miles of green flying past. <em> “This is NOT how I die! I don’t have a girlfriend yet! Hell, I haven’t even been to this school for a week, I haven’t even had my first class yet!” </em></p><p>Wait, maybe this was his first class. It was to teach him how to think under pressure, sink or swim and all that. Thinking fast, Jaune slammed a card into his driver and then another with a cry of: “Henshin!”</p><p><span class="u"><b>“Kamen Ride: Decade!” </b></span> the belt rang out even as Jaune was covered by a white armor. <span class="u"><strong>“</strong><b>Kamen Ride: Fourze! 3, 2, 1!”</b></span></p><p>Mind you, even as he felt the power of the 28th Rider take hold, Jaune’s screams didn’t stop. Barreling over treetops in a corkscrew with the rocket module, he smashed through them ripping up trunks like toothpicks. Finally, Mister Jaune’s Wild Ride came to an end as he slammed directly into a pile of boulders. With a groan, Jaune muttered: “...Ugh, space is here, I guess?”</p><p>Meanwhile, all across the forest, Jaune’s classmates were finding their own ways to achieve a -relatively- smooth landing. Pyrrha, for example, had thrown her spear into a tree, and after hopping down, pried it out and switched it to rifle mode. She looked up and saw Nora flying past riding her hammer like a rocket cackling with glee. </p><p>“There’s something off about that girl…” the Argus native commented with a small smile as she continued into the forest. Now, what about Miss Ruby Rose you may be wondering? Well, she had found perhaps the craziest method of all. Riding a giant nevermore and purposely crash-landing it into a cluster of trees.</p><p>“Oh yeah, three-point landing!” Ruby said punching the air, pulling Crescent Rose out of the creature’s bloodied skull. “Thanks, mister birdy for the ride! I’ll tell my friends -all of them!- about Nevermore Airways!”</p><p>Resting Crescent Rose over her shoulder, and pulling up her hood, the girl marched off into the woods. <em> “Time to make you proud mom.” </em></p><p>Slicing her way through the forest, no grimm standing a chance Ruby kept an eagle’s eye out for the ruins. Okay, so she hadn’t seen them from the air, so that meant they had to be really deep in the forest. That complicated things, didn’t it? Hmm, now that she was actually at eye level, maybe finding them would be easier. All the same though, she would probably have to find Jaune and Pyrrha. While she didn’t doubt their capabilities, they’d both been accepted into Beacon like her for a <em> reason </em> after all she really didn’t like the thought of them all alone. Okay, maybe she didn’t like the thought of herself all alone. So focused on her thoughts was she, that Ruby didn’t see what was coming until too late.<br/><br/>“OOF!” came a shout as Ruby smacked head-on into someone else. And by someone else, I meant Weiss Schnee. “You dolt!”</p><p>“Um… sorry?” Ruby asked rubbing her head in pain. That was then she realized and let out a low moan of: “...Oh no, don’t tell me…”</p><p>It seems Weiss had realized it as well, for she pointed at Ruby and shouted: “DON’T TELL ME, YOU’RE MY TEAMMATE!?!” </p><p>Ruby was doing the exact same thing actually. </p><p>“Ugh, really Brothers?” Ruby asked to the skies. “Really? Do you really hate me that much?”<br/><br/>“...well, I mean, it could be worse,” Weiss supposed. “You could have set off all the dust I’m carrying around for Myrtenaster…”</p><p>“Wait, so that’s its name?” Ruby asked as she analyzed the weapon and went into full on geek mode. “Oooooh, a Multi Action Dust Rapier or MADR for short. Opens up to load the chambers with dust crystals for further augmentation and control over the elements. Classy. Refined. Still doesn’t beat a good scythe though. Meet my high-caliber sniper-scythe, nicknamed Crescent Rose. Or you can just call her my sweetheart.”</p><p>Here, she showed it off to her new partner. Weiss groaned. “So you’re a dolt and a weapons nerd, well nice to know.”</p><p>“Hey, this ‘dolt’ can take on a pack of beowolves and still be home in time for dinner!” Ruby said poking Weiss in the chest. She crossed her arms. “So there!”</p><p>“Well then, congratulations on being the strongest <em> child </em> to sneak your way into Beacon. Bravo!” Weiss sarcastically clapped. “But… as much as I’d love to leave you here, you’re my partner. So, come on. Just don’t slow me down okay?”</p><p>As they marched, Ruby asked. “Oh, I have to know…”</p><p>“Did I make this myself?” Weiss asked holding up Myrtenaster with a haughty grin. “Yes, yes I did. That answer your question?”</p><p>“No, um actually I was going to just ask for your name…” Ruby mumbled.</p><p>“Oh,” Weiss said. “Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. There, you happy now…” Weiss trailed off as she realized she hadn’t caught Ruby’s name in all the mayhem of the past few hours.</p><p>“Rose,” Ruby introduced herself putting on her best superspy introduction voice. “Ruby Rose.”</p><p>Weiss facepalmed. “By no means does this make us friends. Just partners, okay?”</p><p>“Well, it’s a start Weiss,” Ruby beamed hugging her new found partner. “Don’t you worry none okay? Ruby Rose is here to make things all better!”</p><p>“Great…” Weiss groaned out, shoving Ruby away.</p><p>“Oh, wait, was that this sarcasm thing Yang keeps telling me about?” Ruby asked before waving it off. “Ah, anyways there’s some friends of mine out here and I really need to find them okay? So, Weiss, let’s march!”</p><p>“You’re not the boss of me!” Weiss snapped. “Now, there’s some friends of yours we need to find, now march Rose!”</p><p>Ruby groaned, this was going to be a <em> looooooooonnnnggg </em>partnership. Meanwhile, Jaune clambered out of the bushes his transformation canceled out and had managed to meet up with Pyrrha. </p><p>“Do you... have any spots left on your team?” the red-head asked nervously. “I mean, I heard you were taking up offers. And I don’t see anyone else around so, uh…”</p><p>“Oh, you heard that?” Jaune stammered as several of his rider cards drifted out of his pocket. Pyrrha eyed them. “...Y-Yeah, I guess I was going around campus making offers like that wasn’t I?”</p><p>“We’re not out here to play Jaune,” Pyrrha said as unbeknownst to anyone, several cards drifted a ways off in the winds going unseen. “You could have saved these for later…”</p><p>“And risk them getting stolen, no way!” Jaune said. “My uncle would kill me!”</p><p>Pyrrha gave an understanding nod before replying: “Just keep in mind Jaune, there’s plenty of things out here that want to kill us,” she said as something in the bushes ruffled. Both students eyed the movement before all went silent once more. Too silent for their liking actually. “So,  we really should get moving…”</p><p>Back with Weiss and Ruby, the two continued their trudge through the forest. “Oh come on Weiss, what’s the hurry?”</p><p>“I will <em> not </em> let my mission be delayed because you're too slow! I swear, if I get a bad grade because of your—” Weiss was suddenly stunned into silence as Ruby appeared next to her in a blur of movement, red rose petals falling to the ground. “What the...?”</p><p>“I'm not slow, see? You don't have to worry about me!” Ruby said and was pleased to note the look of slight amazement on her partner’s face. Slight, but it was there all the same.</p><p>“When did...?” Weiss breathed.</p><p>“Weiss, just because I don't exactly know how to deal with people doesn't mean I don't know how to deal with monsters!” Ruby said putting a friendly arm around Weiss’ shoulders. To her surprise, the Ice Queen didn’t object. Or was that Weiss Queen? “You're about to see a whole different side of me today, Weiss, and after it's all over, you're going to be like, “Wow! That Ruby girl is really, really cool... and I wanna be her friend!”</p><p>“If you say so…” Weiss muttered. “Alright then, okay then. So you’re a speedster. Interesting to know really. So you can move your legs as fast as your mouth! Huh!”</p><p>Of course, it was about that moment in time when the first threat presented itself. A massive spider monster leaped out of the trees, bone-white mask atop its head. The Grimm’s mandibles clicked angrily even as it webbed Ruby to a tree.</p><p>“Ruby!” Weiss shouted as she readied Myrtenaster, prepping several dust crystals. The chamber spinning, Weiss prepared herself for battle. Daintly spinning like a ballerina, she dodged several string shots, going over her battle plan in her mind. “<em> Remember your training, Weiss. Head up, shoulders back, right foot forward — not that forward! — slow your breathing, wait for the right time to strike, and...Now!”  </em></p><p>She struck, and the grimm burned with a flame even as Ruby managed to pry herself out of the webbing. Crescent Rose drawn, she cut through the spider creature with a series of slices. </p><p>“Well, that was…” Ruby trailed off and swallowed nervously as several more of the massive grimm appeared from out of the underbrush. “...easy?”</p><p>“So, you said you can deal with monsters right?” Weiss asked. “Well, here’s your chance to put your lien where your mouth is. Come on, show me you’re worth something Rose!”</p><p>“It’s Ruby,” Ruby gently corrected as she changed Crescent Rose into rifle form and fired off several shots, downing some smaller spider grimm. “As your partner, you’d best keep to remembering that!”</p><p>The gunshots and the sounds of death rang out through the forest. Already, Jaune and Pyrrha were rushing to the sounds, and ready to join the battle. With a war cry, Pyrrha launched her shield ala Captain America, it rebounding off one grimm’s head even as her spear -Miló was it’s name- changed into a short sword. With a sickening ‘squelch’, the blade tip was thrust into the head of one of the grimm. Pyrrha caught her shield and watched as another spider fell.</p><p>“So, the gang’s all together again,” she said with a soft, warm smile. Changing Miló into gun form, she let the bullets fly. One by one, grimm went down in a heap. “Ruby, she’s your partner?”</p><p>She looked at Weiss, who with several quick strikes took down another one of the hoard.</p><p>“More or less,” Ruby said changing Crescent to scythe mode just in time to slash another grimm apart. Jaune meanwhile watched nervously, and his eyes went to his utility belt where inside a small pocket his driver rested. Should he risk it? Could he risk it? No, best not. Not when he was so exposed. Drawing his sword, he knew there was no better time to test Ruby’s improvements.</p><p>“Need some dust!” Jaune shouted looking at Weiss.</p><p>“Get your own!” Weiss snapped.</p><p>“Weiss! Just give him a crystal or two!” Ruby snapped in no mood for her bullshit. With a blink of surprise at Ruby being so firm, Weiss nervously tossed several crystals to Jaune.</p><p>“Here, just don’t blow yourself up, okay?” Weiss said. Jaune caught the fire crystal and with a slash ignited the remaining spiders in a wall of flame. </p><p>“Wow…” Ruby whispered as Jaune sheathed his blade. She brought him up into a tight hug, maybe a little too tight as evidenced by Jaune’s gasps and wheezes. Pyrrha watched nervously. “You saved us Jaune!”</p><p>“Well, uh,” Jaune said flushing red given Ruby’s ‘assets’ were pretty close to his own face. “You really should be giving Weiss all the credit, given she had the crystals. Without her, we’d all be dead.”</p><p>Weiss looked very, <em> very </em>smug. Ruby and Pyrrha could only share a look and groan.</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>Worlds away, DiEnd returned to his personal home away from home, the world of Faiz. Or, well one of them anyways. They’d taken him in, the world had taken him in without even knowing. Leaning back in his chair, DiEnd looked out the window. It looked so peaceful. Well, he supposed it was. This world’s monsters were laying low, driven deep underground.</p><p>Pressing a series of buttons on a wall after pulling back on a book to expose these buttons, the wall itself moved aside. Inside was a vault of the many treasures Daiki had collected on his journey throughout the Rider worlds. He could name them all. The G4 Chip, the Orga Gear, the Gold Drive Belt amongst others.</p><p>Placing his newest treasure inside a glass case, and locking it firmly Daiki smiled to himself. That smile was soon to fade as he heard a distinct blaring of a train’s horn. He groaned, he knew that horn. Great, just what he needed.</p><p>Sure enough, Daiki walked out of his apartment only to see this massive bullet train parked outside, steaming and smoking. Two creatures, one resembling an Oni and the other resembling a dragon were shouting at each other.</p><p>“You moron, this is the last time I let you drive the Liner!” Momotaros shouted angrily pulling at his compatriots’ ear. “See, look what happened. Now we’re going to have to go to that clock guy -the Demon King’s uncle- and get this whole thing repaired again! And he’s on the other side of the city!”</p><p>“There’s no clock he cannot fix though!” Ryutaros chimed in. </p><p>“You brat!” Momotaros shouted smacking him upside the head. “Why I oughta…” </p><p>He went for his driver and liner pass, while Ryutaros went for his gun. “...Oh, so that’s the way you want to play it huh? Okay okay, come on and put up your dukes! Let’s do this mano-a-mano!”</p><p>“Just so you know,” Daiki said, taking a sip of his coffee. “Stealing catchphrases is my thing. If anyone’s going to steal Gentaro’s little catchphrase, I’ll be the one doing it.”</p><p>“Oh yeah…?” Momotaros said snatching the coffee cup out a very displeased Daiki’s hands. “Then here, you beat some sense into this brat! Make him cry!”</p><p>Too late Momotaros realized what he had said, Ryutaros sniggering all the while. It was then another Imagin peeked his head out of the Den-Liner. “Did I hear someone say the word cry?”</p><p>Momotaros quickly shoved him back inside with a grumble of: “You go back to sleep, okay bear?”</p><p>Daiki really hated these four, did I forget to mention? The Taros were always such a pain in the neck to deal with, and most of the Riders he’d met really didn’t like them all that much either. They didn’t mind the Taros’ caregiver, the first Den-O but the Taros themselves were generally avoided if possible. Philip and Gentaro were probably the only ones that Daiki knew of that actually could stand to be around them for any length of time. Philip found them fascinating, and Gentaro… well, he was Gentaro.</p><p>“You couldn’t have crashed… anywhere else in the city?” Daiki asked. “I was about to have breakfast.”</p><p>And somehow he found himself in the dining room with the four Taros. Daiki knew he shouldn’t have opened his mouth. A bib around his neck, and slamming his fork and spoon on the table, Ryutaros requested more. A bottle of milk was quickly shoved into his mouth by Momotaros, the deep red imagin in no mood for the child-like dragon’s shenanigans. </p><p>“We are guests in this household, so be nice about it okay?” Urataros said. “Don’t act like such a child. Or we will be forced to treat you like one.”</p><p>Off to the side, Kintaros snoozed the day away. Daiki wondered what he had done to deserve this, any of this really. Surely Tsukasa had to be laughing at him somewhere, right? The smug little bastard.</p><p>Speaking of...<br/><br/>“Hey, isn’t this…?” Momotaros asked picking up the shattered remains of Decade’s K-Touch. Urataros and Ryutaros peered over. “By Ichigo, what happened?”</p><p>“Found it on my last little treasure hunt, now get away from that,” Daiki said prying the remains out of Momotaros’ hands. “It’s not yours!”</p><p>“Funny, coming from the thief!” Urataros joked.</p><p>“Did you <em> murder </em>Tsukasa?” Ryutaros asked. “Because I’ve seen on plenty of shows that killers often keep trophies of their victims around their houses!”</p><p>“You idiot brat, I told you that you’ve been watching too much TV!” Momotaros shouted, pulling him away. “It rots your brain. Now Daiki, did you murder Tsukasa?”</p><p>“Of course not,” Daiki said snatching his cup of coffee away from Momotaros. “Don’t be stupid.”</p><p>“Me, stupid?” Momotaros snarled. “Are you implying I’m stupid?” </p><p>“I think he is, though we all already knew that,” Urataros said. “Just saying.”</p><p>“Shut up turtle!” Momo snapped at the blue imagin. Out of nowhere, he pulled a magnifying glass and deerstalker -somehow managing to make it fit on his head- and somehow managed to make the world go all black and grey. Pulling up a chair, Momotaros shined a light on Daiki’s face, making the man wince from the brightness. “Now did you or did you not murder Tsukasa Kadoya, aka Kamen Rider Decade?”</p><p>“I think everyone here already knows who Decade is, genius,” Urataros said. “Just commenting.”</p><p>“Oh, shut up!” Momotaros said shoving him away before snatching Daiki's coffee away once again. Another shot had been fired in the great coffee wars of 2020. “I don’t need your input for an interrogation!”</p><p>“Suit yourself…” Urataros shrugged before possessing Daiki and rooting around in his memories. “Oh, here we go…”</p><p>“...I coulda thought of that,” Momotaros huffed as he crossed his arms. “Seriously!”</p><p>“So, no murders, though I did find something interesting enough. A world of animal people! Daiki did kill a few of them! Stole some guy’s sword, ooh what an edgelord! And I thought Eternal was an edgelord. And he’s the guy who liked to spout off how it was the grim reaper’s party time!” Urataros as Daiki said. Then there was a knock at the door and everyone scrambled to make themselves look presentable, Momotaros dressing himself up in a tux… somehow.</p><p>“Greetings,” Ryutaros said with a bow as he opened the door, wearing a maid costume -of all things!- as Takumi Inui walked inside. </p><p>Takumi gave a smile and fought back a snort at Ryutaros’ attire. He then looked at U-Daiki and sighed. “Alright, as much as I dislike Daiki, I’d think he’d want his body back. Let him go, now.”</p><p>“Or?” Urataros as Daiki asked. “I happen to rather like this body, it’s rather established. I can easily reel in a few ladies like this. They actually rather dig the whole man of mystery thing, really.”</p><p>Takumi went for the Faiz phone, dialing in a number. “Or I call in Hana.”</p><p>All the imagin shared a look of abject fear before Urataros released Daiki. Almost immediately Daiki set about strangling Urataros, shouting: “Oh, if any Rider’s going to get murdered here I know exactly which one!”</p><p>Quickly, he was pried off by both Momotaros and Takumi.</p><p>“So, wolfie,” Momo had to ask. “What business do you have with Daiki?”</p><p>“I want to hire him,” Takumi said. “I need him to steal something back for me.”</p><p>“What do I look like, a golden retriever?” Daiki asked. Takumi sighed, reached into his pocket and pulled out wads of yen. “...So a golden retriever I’ll be then. Now, what do you need to be stolen back?”</p><p>“You might not believe this, but I need you to find a fellow Orphnoch,” Takumi asked. “He’s gone missing.”</p><p>“So, hire a PI!” Daiki asked snatching back his coffee from Momo. </p><p>“Would any PI you know believe me if I said animalistic zombie creatures walked the night, and I need one found?” Takumi deadpanned. </p><p>“Fair point,” Daiki conceded. “So, what do you need me to do?”</p><p>“It’s not just you now,” Takumi said looking towards the imagin. “I need their help as well, unexpected surprise but… a pleasant one all the same.”</p><p>“...Never imagined anyone would call these four showing up a pleasant surprise,” Daiki grumbled.</p><p>“Yeah, I know,” Takumi said. “Surprised me too when I said it. Think I made myself a little sick now that I think of it.”</p><p>“OI!” Momotaros shouted. He was soundly ignored. </p><p>“Let me guess, you want to travel back in time to the time you saw your friend last, correct?” Urataros asked. Takumi nodded. “Hate to break it to you, but dragonbreath over there crashed the Liner… Again.”</p><p>Takumi smiled and held up the Faiz phone again dialing yet another number. So, after a few quick whacks from a certain former Demon King the Den-Liner was up and running and back on it’s time trippin’ ride. It was a hot rainy summer night some weeks ago, Takumi and DiEnd tracking a dark-skinned man through the alleyways of Tokyo. Somehow, they’d managed to allow Momotaros to come along. </p><p>Then, it happened. The orphnoch began to get pulled through some kind of dimensional gate. It wasn’t as clean as Tsukasa’s that was for sure, but there it was. “Hey, you there!” Momotaros shouted at an ashen-skinned woman. “Let the zombie animal go!”</p><p>“That’s racist, you do know that right?” Takumi deadpanned.</p><p>“Hey, you want to rescue your friend or not?” Momotaros asked before shouting: “Henshin!”</p><p>Takumi and Daiki soon followed, their drivers going through their respective transformation calls.</p><p>
  <span class="u"> <b>“Kamen Ride: DiEnd!”</b> </span>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>“Complete.” </em> </b>
</p><p>Several lightning blasts flew, with the ashen-skinned woman actually grabbing bolts out of the sky and redirecting them towards the three Riders. Momotaros caught one bolt with his blade, and sent it right back at her. It was absorbed into a shield of clouds. Momotaros growled. “That’s cheating, right? I know that’s just cheating! Tell me it’s cheating, thief boy!”</p><p>“It’s cheating,” Daiki said. DiEnd summoned the other Taros with his gun and they all went into Super Climax Form with Takumi achieving Blaster Form.</p><p>“From start to finish,” Momotaros called as he drew his blade. “We’re always at a climax!”</p><p>“How vulgar…” their enemy said.</p><p>“Never thought I’d be agreeing with the villain,” Takumi drawled. Jumping forwards, a drill of red energy formed around his foot. Ice blocked the strike, and soon Salem -for that was her name- was behind Takumi. Grabbing the now crimson rider by his helmet, Salem slammed him into a nearby wall several times shattering his faceplates.</p><p>Takumi whirled around, and jumped skywards, his backpack opening up to reveal twin blaster cannons. Salem staggered backwards only barely grabbing the shots out of the air or deflecting them. She was punched in the face whipping around in a dazed confusion by Takumi. </p><p>“My turn!” Momotaros said jumping forwards and going into his own Rider kick. “My special attack: Super Boisterous Kick!”</p><p>Salem dodged with a sidestep, but was then hit head-on by DiEnd, holding Takumi in Final Form Ride form. Pulling the trigger, Salem was washed away by a stream of pure red energy. Takumi was quickly changed back. “...you didn’t even warn me that time…” he grumbled to DiEnd.</p><p>“Hey, uh guys?” Momotaros asked. “Not to break up the parade, but is she supposed to be doing that? Because that is so cheating!”</p><p>Takumi and Daiki looked and their eyes widened as bit by bit their foe began pulling herself back together. “...Yep, that is definitely cheating,” Takumi agreed.</p><p>“I will give you this,” Salem said. “Nobody’s ever managed to get that far against me in ages. I’ll let you live, this time. But come between me and my prizes. I bid you farewell. Be warned, next time you interfere I will <em> not </em>be so merciful.”</p><p>With that, she ripped herself away from this world and into the next leaving all three Riders to wonder… who the hell was she? And more importantly, what did she want with the orphnoch? And if she ever appeared again, how did they stop her?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Initiation Day Part 2: Devils in the Forest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em> “I’m in hell,” </em> Jaune decided. Apparently, killing all of those spider creatures had really kicked the hornet’s nest, relatively speaking. Now it seemed like every creature in the entire forest was after them. Or to be more accurate, after <em> him. </em> Seemed they smelled the new meat. Case in point… <em> “A Death Stalker, of all the luck!” </em></p><p>The massive scorpion-like Grimm was not pleased. Long story short, while searching for a place to rest until the chaos died down, the unofficial team JRWP had er… stumbled into a den. Well, it wasn’t like it was marked with any sort of warning or had a big neon sign that said: ‘Very dangerous Grimm inside, enter here if you want to die horribly!’ over the entrance. </p><p>Really, there was nothing of the kind!</p><p>Though telling that to Weiss… “You dolt!” she shrieked. Er… Schnreeked? “Of all of the caves in the forest, you had to find the one that absolutely <em> had </em>to be home to a Grimm!”</p><p>“Most caves are generally home to a Grimm,” Pyrrha said shifting her spear into rifle mode. Lining up her shot, gunshots rang out through the grove. Sidestepping to avoid the death stalker’s stinger strikes she hurled her shield slicing the creature’s main weapon off. Letting her shield return to her hands, Pyyrha allowed Ruby to use her as a stepping stool Crescent Rose in gun mode. Several more shots and the monster was down. Observing the body and shooting a shot into it’s head just for paranoia’s sake, the Invincible Girl of Argus continued: “You know that just as well as I. Everywhere we go in this forest is a gamble with our lives.”</p><p>“See… see,  listen to Pyrrha,” Jaune said, finally stopping to catch his breath. “She knows the score, right? If we follow her, we might just make it out of this forest alive.”</p><p>“I thought this was Team Jaune…” Weiss sneered.</p><p>“Y-Yes, um well I know when to bow down to a higher power…” Jaune stammered out. </p><p>“If it’s Team Jaune, shouldn’t you be the one figuring out how to get everyone out alive?” Pyrrha said although her annoyance didn’t quite reach her eyes. Inwardly, she was nodding in approval. After all, a good team leader didn’t place everything on themselves, they relied on the advice of their teammates. They listened, learned and formulated their next move from said advice. All the same, however, Pyrrha hated to be this shadow leader, she wanted Jaune to make some decisions on his own.</p><p>“Yes, well, I delegate,” Jaune said in reply, shuffling his feet nervously. “I… I’m not dumb enough to think I know <em> everything. </em> You’re the one with wisdom and experience anyways so…”</p><p>“Oh hush you!” Weiss snapped. “You’re the one who got us into this mess to begin with so you don’t get to spe-OW!”</p><p>Rubbing her head, Weiss looked at Ruby who had hit her with the flat of her sweetheart’s blade. “It was an honest mistake,” Ruby said with a disapproving look at the Schnee Heiress. “Be nice, okay? You or I could make the same mistake!”</p><p>“Um, yes well I…” Weiss mumbled sheepishly before regaining her composure. Smiling in her own haughty way, she said: “Well, if I made that same mistake we wouldn’t nearly end up dead! We’d kill the Grimm and be with a shelter in less than five minutes.”</p><p>Ruby and Jaune shared skeptical looks. “Still, the stalker’s dead so we can take this cave as our own,” Jaune said nervously venturing into the cave with his sword drawn... just in case.  “So, uh, tally ho?”</p><p>“Do you know anyone who even says that anymore?” Weiss asked leaning over to Ruby so she could whisper in her ear. “Like really, do you know anyone?”</p><p>“I do!” Ruby cried triumphantly punching the air and raising Crescent Rose like it was a flag held high. “I say it! Tally ho! Tally ho!”</p><p>“...Of course you do,” Weiss grumbled with a shake of her head.</p><p>“Aww, don’t be such a debbie downer Weiss,” Ruby went on.</p><p>“Debbie… What's a debbie downer?” Weiss mumbled to herself. To be honest, she wasn’t really sure if she actually wanted to know. It sounded like she was being insulted.</p><p>“You know, a mood-killer?” Ruby asked.</p><p>“That… that doesn’t help any either,” Weiss stammered out. “Can you speak an actual language Rose?”</p><p>“I am!” Ruby said running a hand through Weiss’ white locks, ruffling her hair. “You just need to learn the art of slang!”</p><p>“Over my dead body!” Weiss snapped. “Slang words aren’t words! They’re just…”</p><p>“Just what?” Ruby asked annoyingly perky.</p><p>“Annnnnnnnnnnyways,” Jaune said hoping to change the subject before the two started killing each other. “These caves go on for miles and miles right?”</p><p>“Yeah, they do. Right up till you hit cliffs at the edge of the forest,” Pyrrha said, her interest growing with each passing moment. “Seems like you’ve got an idea, don’t you?”</p><p>“Yeah, way I figure it, if we just keep heading in this direction,” Jaune said pointing to the west. “We should be able to bypass most of the forest and end up right on top of the ruins. Or below them, technically. That way, no unnecessary battles and no risking life and limb dealing with Grimm!”</p><p>“Except for… you know, the ones that live in this cavern,” Weiss pointed out. “Did at any point it occur to you in this grand plan of yours that there might be some down here?” </p><p>“Yes, well, I didn’t say it was a <em> perfect </em> plan,” Jaune said. “But there’s bound to be more Grimm up <em> there </em> than down here. It’s like this right? See, the Grimm smell the fear and the blood from our classmates so they’re more inclined to get to the surface rather than stay down here. Sure, yeah there’s going to be a few odds and ends down here -just in case y’know?- but the majority of Grimm we can just bypass! Easy as pie.”</p><p>“Wow, Jaune…” Pyrrha said nodding in approval.</p><p>“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but that sounds like an actual plan!” Weiss admitted. “Hmph, keep it up and maybe I’ll actually start to like you!”</p><p>Again Ruby hit her atop the head with the flat of her blade.</p><p>“Well, I for the record already do…” Pyrrha trailed off. If Weiss didn’t know any better then well she could have sworn the girl sounded almost lovestruck. But that was impossible, right? After all, Weiss mused, what could a girl like that see in a dunce like him!</p><p><em> “Girl’s right you know,” </em> came a voice to Jaune’s left. He swallowed hard to himself, ah yes right there was that. His uninvited guest, or tag along or whatever. <em> “Keep this up and you may actually begin to sound like you know what you’re doing!” </em></p><p>Jaune didn’t know when Tsukasa’s specter first appeared in his life. It had been sometime soon after he first picked up the Decadriver. Maybe it was some last lingering remnant of Tsukasa’s powers given shape and form. Maybe it was Tsukasa himself, attracted to his old belt. Ghosts had been known to be like that. Or maybe it was some sort of delusion Jaune had created himself in his grief over not being able to save the Rider’s life. Some form of self inflicted punishment. Well, it was better than cutting anyways. If only marginally. In the many therapists Jaune had been shuffled around through, not one of them he had ever told about this thing.</p><p>Not that they’d probably believe him anyways. After all, a ghost attracted to some fancy belt buckle? lt just sounded plain silly! So yeah, no matter how unhealthy it probably was, Jaune kept his silence. He kept his silence on the matter and continued on with life. Maybe one day Tsukasa’s specter would get the hint and leave.</p><p>Okay, yeah it sounded like wishful thinking but a Huntsman could hope, right?</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>In another part of the forest, Yang was currently in search of her sister. “Ruby? Rubes? Rubles?” she called. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted movement. Peeking her head into some bushes, she asked: “Hey, any of you haven’t seen my sister right? Carries a massive scythe, wears a little red hood? Or this Jaune kid, blond and kinda scraggly?” </p><p>It was then who she realized just whom she was talking to, namely a pack of beowolves. All of which looked to be <em> very </em>hungry. </p><p>“Yeeeeeeeeeah, nope!” Yang very quickly decided and slowly pulled her head back into the shrubbery. With a speed to rival her sister’s semblance, she was off. Seemed the beowolves had been taking a few notes as well, given in almost a blink of an eye they were in front of her. “Okay then, I was actually hoping you guys would try to stop me. I’ve been itching for a fight all morning,” the blonde bombshell declared readying her gauntlets. “Careful now, you guys are picking a fight with hell herself!”</p><p>The wolves charged.</p><p>“Oh well, I tried to warn them,” Yang said slamming a fist directly into the first’s skull, cracking the bone-white mask it bore as a face. “I did that much so...  Nobody can blame me when they end up pummeled. It’s really their funeral!”</p><p>Yang grabbed another of the beowolves by the shoulder and tossed it behind her, the wolf-themed Grimm landing in a crater. “Plus, let’s be honest here,” Yang laughed slamming a fist into the third wolf. “They should be honored to be taken out with a <em> Yang! </em>Haha, going to have to remember that one!”</p><p>With another wild laugh, the blond grabbed the second beowolf and tossed it through several trees. “Ha, you guys couldn’t hit the broad side of a bar…” Yang started backhanding the first beowolf. It was then she noticed a single strand of blond hair falling to the ground. Yang saw red and became a furious onslaught of punches. “Okay, just for that… no more mister nice Yang!”</p><p>She punctuated each punch with a shout of: “Don’t. Touch. The. Hair!”</p><p>So caught up in her fury was she, Yang failed to notice the fourth beowolf -the pack leader- sneaking up behind her. However, she did notice the gunshot piercing through the air, and the sound of a body thudding. Yang turned to see Ren walking up, Stormflower in hand. The blades on his weapon flipping out, the ninja ran forwards and bounded off a tree before slicing through the two remaining beowolfs.</p><p>“You failed to notice when you were about to be slaughtered,” Ren said simply. “Always, all eyes should be about you. I fear for you and your future if this is your strategy in battle. Or lack thereof. Just charging forwards and hoping for the best will not keep you alive forever.”</p><p>“Shut up, I know that!” Yang said her hair still practically ablaze. “What do you know anyways?”</p><p>“Enough, and I can surmise your Semblance amounts to a super-powered temper tantrum, correct?” Ren observed. “The angier you get, the more powerful you become. It can be easily exploited by a savvy enough opponent.”</p><p>“That’s not technically how it works…” Yang muttered to herself taking a few deep calming breaths. Technically, she absorbed blows and powered herself up with them. Or at least that’s what her dad had told her upon his observations. It was just when she got angry, she tended to bring it out more often.</p><p>“Well, whatever the case you are easily predictable,” Ren went on. “Stop being predictable. Fight smarter, not harder.”</p><p>Yang grumbled something to herself. “And I suppose your Semblance is getting under someone’s skin?” she snarked rather annoyed at being questioned on her fighting style.</p><p>“No, it’s called Tranquility,” Ren answered. “It allows me to mask any negative emotions I may harbor.”</p><p>“Wow, you’re like a real-life ninja to Grimm then!” Yang appraised. “Sweet.”</p><p>“I suppose you could call it that,” Ren noted. “Never really thought about… Oh, here she comes.”</p><p>Yang was about to ask who ‘she’ was, until the answer quickly became apparent. Nora, rocketing in on Magnhild with a cry of: “<em> Reeeeeeennnnnnnnnnn!” </em></p><p>“Um, wow that’s uh…” Yang stammered searching for the proper words for this. “That’s uh... Something.”</p><p>Yang failed to notice the small ghost of a smile on Ren’s otherwise emotionless face. </p><p>“Awww Renny, you failed to save some for me?” Nora harrumphed. “I was hoping to not miss <em> all </em>the fun… Oooh, new girl!”</p><p>“Um… hi?” Yang asked not really sure how to take all of this. “Name’s Yang Xiao Long, remember it. Memorize it! The most awesome student in Beacon here!”</p><p>“Ooooh, I like her, cocky!” Nora said licking lips and enjoying the <em> considerably </em>freaked out expression on Yang’s face. “You’ve been holding out on me Renny, where’d you find her? No wait, don’t answer that. I know you won’t anyways!”</p><p><em> “Well, I doubt he could even if he wanted to,” </em> Yang thought. <em> “You’re almost as bad as my sister. Oh gods, my sister! I need to find her! While I know she can handle herself with Crescent Rose and all, it’s the Emerald Forest, Brothers only know what lurks in this place!” </em></p><p>While Yang was having her mini-freak out, Nora introduced herself. “Nora Valkyrie’s the name, clobbering Grimm is my game. I see you’ve already met Ren! Who really needs to explain himself for picking up another girlfriend along the way!”</p><p>While Ren sweated, a final member to join the group walked up. “Well, I see you’re all getting well acquainted,” Blake noted. “Nice as that is, we should move. It’s dangerous to stay in one place for this long.”</p><p>“Oh, let them come~!” Nora singsonged and practically danced in place. “Me and Magnhild are thirsty for blood!”</p><p><em> “Possessive AND cocky,” </em> Yang thought to herself with a small sweatdrop. <em> “Ren’s a lucky guy!” </em></p><p>The sound of fighting, gunshots cutting through the air and the sounds of blades slicing through flesh soon became audible. Here Nora and Yang shared a look.</p><p>“Think we should…” Nora started with a grin.</p><p>“Help them out?” Yang asked with an equally devilish expression. She slammed one fist into her palm. “Oh yeah. Looks like your Magnhild is going to be getting some use sooner rather than later!”</p><p>Ren meanwhile wondered what in the Brothers’ names he had gotten himself into with these two. Something he was sure he would be asking again and again in the future. </p><p>“Hey, uh,” Yang started as they followed the sounds of fighting echoing out through the forest. “Think we can wrap this up quick? I’ve got a sister out there, and as much as I’d like to think she can handle herself…”</p><p>“New friends first, panic about your sister later,” Nora said calmly as Magnhild was shifted into grenade launcher form. “Besides, hey if we save these peeps maybe we can all form a posse to really back up your sister. Eh? Eh?” she asked, nudging Yang in the side.</p><p>The thought was appreciated, Yang giving a small little smile. “Still, all the same, I don’t want Rubles to think I’m being possessive. Overprotective even!” the brawler mused. “Good grief, when she got selected to be in Beacon, I was so afraid something would happen to her. Brothers above, I’m such a nervous wreck! I'm supposed to be the cool one!”</p><p>In any event, the foursome happened across the source of the fighting. Team CRDL was in a clearing fending off a massive snake Grimm. A King Taijitu, Ren recognized. Cardin slammed his massive mace into the side of the snake’s head, the serpent recoiling in pain. It reared up, fangs bared and launched itself at the armored warrior. </p><p>Ren leaped out of the shadows and dive-kicked the snake in the side of it’s head, deliberately aiming for the spot where Cardin had hit it. Rebounding off the massive serpent, he riddled it’s head with bullets. Landing atop a log, Ren readied himself for battle. Nora let out a war cry as she fired off a barrage of grenades from Magnhild. Her target recoiled even as Yang dashed forwards and grabbed it by the hail. Hair burning, and eyes a blazing red Yang let out a snarl and tossed the snake at Blake. The black-haired beauty drew her weapon, Gambol Shroud and…</p><p>
  <b> <em>SLICE!</em> </b>
</p><p>Blood drenched the forest floor, falling like a hard rain as the snake fell into two pieces. </p><p>“I could have handled that thing!” Cardin snapped drenched in blood and gore. </p><p>“I’m sure,” Blake snorted. “Seems you all were doing just fine.”</p><p>“Hey, don’t doubt the bossman!” Dove piped up.</p><p>“Really now?” Blake asked. “So what are you? His little… gang? Is that what this is? His followers, his worshippers?”</p><p>“Ease off,” Ren finally spoke putting up a hand in front of Dove and putting up another in front of Blake. “We’ve got better things to do than fight amongst ourselves.”</p><p>“Yeah, I’ll say,” Cardin said, crossing his arms. “And I’ve certainly got better things to do than watch you get up on your high horse ninja boy.”</p><p>“Hey,” Yang snapped. “We were just trying to protect you! A little gratitude might be nice, don’t you think?”</p><p>“I thought Huntresses didn’t seek gratitude? That they did things only because it was the right thing to do?” Cardin pointed out. Yang harrumphed. “So missy, unless you know what you’re talking about why don’t you cork it?”</p><p>“Why don’t you?” Yang asked.</p><p>“Oooh, temper temper. If you ask me, huntresses should be seen and <em> not </em>heard,” Cardin commented. “Now why don’t you go play with your dress up dolls?”</p><p>Blake put a firm hand on Yang’s shoulder. “Come on, no need to stick around here. I can see when we’re not wanted.”</p><p>“Yes, clearly,” Yang said as they walked off. “Besides, with attitudes like that, they’re going to get themselves killed anyways! Not that I care…”</p><p>“Yang, we have to be the better people, let’s not lower ourselves to their level,” Blake said.</p><p>“Yeah, you’re right…” Yang begrudgingly admitted as they walked off. As they did so, nobody noticed the flashes of light from where Team CRDL stood, most prominently a blue one that cut through the sky...</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>This is what it’s like to be Cardin Winchester right about now. You’ve lived your whole life playing by your own rules, never bowing down to anyone.</p><p>But you know, somewhere deep down inside in the back of your mind you’re the classic ‘jock’. The type of guy who will probably peak well before you hit thirty. It’s not something you like to talk about but you know it’s the truth. </p><p>But all the same, you trudge through life continuing on because it’s the only thing you can do. Maybe you’ll prove that nasty little voice in the back of your head completely wrong. Maybe your whole team will.</p><p>So you go through initiation day. You descend into the Emerald Forest and you fight off anything in your way. But then your methods are questioned by some upstart brawler and her friends. Bah, what does she know? But you want to prove her wrong anyways.</p><p>So when four cards land in front of you, offering up power you take them. A voice in the back of your mind -not your mind’s own- growls out one simple word. Fourze. The power comes and you gleefully accept it and you laugh. Nobody will ever trod on you again, or your friends.</p><p>And given the affirmative nods your friends give in their new forms you know they agree.</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>The caves again. Jaune knew where he was going, he had a good sense of direction. He had many flaws. He was a terrible studier, a poor hand with the sort, had some serious self-worth issues and was in no way ready for Beacon. Or was it Beacon being in no way ready for him? But he had a <em> great </em>sense of direction. He doubted he even needed this compass, though he still kept it on him just as a fallback plan. </p><p>Here, for once he knew the score. His parents had taken him spelunking -cave exploring for the unaware- once or twice. In safe caves, ones that had been scouted to their fullest and cleared off all Grimm. It was calming, soothing in some regards. The cold chill -but not too cold- and the soft <em> drip drip drip </em> of water from the above. It was like an adventure, except unlike most adventures it didn’t end with death and horror to all involved.</p><p><em> “You know, I’d almost think this creative ingenuity isn’t just because you’re in a cave,” </em> the Tsukasa specter says to him in a low whispering tone. Jaune tells it to brush off, but his voice goes ignored and instead he has his team looking towards him like a crazy person. Great. Just great. <em> “No no, but acknowledging that would require you to have a better sense of self-worth than you actually have.” </em></p><p>Jaune wants oh so desperately to tell it to shut up, but he’s already made a fool of himself plenty of times today. No need to dig his grave any deeper.</p><p>Not for the first time, Jaune wondered what the hell he was even doing here. Aside from y’know faking his way into Beacon and wishing, no <em> hoping </em>desperately nobody on the staff picks up on it. He was so woefully underprepared and the only reason he hadn’t been killed yet was because he was getting by via the help of others.</p><p>Something moved in the darkness, and Jaune slipped away from his team. Slipping a card into the Decadriver, Jaune transformed into the first Rider of Japan’s Heisei Era. Kamen Rider Kuuga, the man who protected the smiles of others.</p><p>The driver speaks of a form, called Dragon, is gifted with a long-reaching rod. Jaune doesn’t feel as strong as he expected, actually feeling weaker than some of his other forms. But it would do as proven when a bat-like Rider jumps out of the darkness with a sword in hand. The fellow blue warrior struck quick and true and it was all Jaune could do to hold off the swordsman. A strike to the sternum sent Kiva -it looked him anyways- staggering and then Kiva changed into a green form. Jaune followed suite, changing into Pegasus form.</p><p>Both Riders drew their weapons and each fired off several shots. Each shot each Rider fired was met in mid-air by their opposition’s shot. Another form change, and Jaune just barely managed to lift his sword in Titan Form. Kiva was faster and with a massive hammer at that.</p><p>Jaune was hit in the chest -never seeing the hammer coming- and nearly doubled over. Kiva pounded the ground with his hammer and a great fissure erupted with Jaune nearly tumbling in. Jaune looked behind and saw a great rushing river, and noticed he was being driven over the edge of one very steep drop. Jaune changed forms one final time and was covered in red armor. He drew back his fist letting it erupt in flames and punched Kiva. HARD. Kiva staggered back and was caught in the chest by a roundhouse kick. A weak one, for sure nowhere near the power of the original Kuuga’s blows but a kick all the same. </p><p>Kiva staggered back and shifted forms one final time -it was his base form now- and drew a golden sword. Jaune never saw the strikes coming, and one after the other three blows slashed him across the chest. He staggered back just as Kiva mysteriously vanished into the darkness as quickly as he’d come. </p><p>“I need more training…” the Arc muttered to himself as he fell back against a rock.</p><p>“Yes, you do…” DiEnd muttered. In the shadows, Daiki pocketed his weapon and Kiva’s card. His suspicions had been confirmed, his worst fears proven true. Just as he thought, Tsukasa had passed on his powers never allowing the mantle of Decade to die. But why this boy? Why?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Taking the Inoue love triangle route here. Jaune's crushing on an oblivious sisterly Ruby, Pyrrha's crushing on Jaune and Ruby has no idea what is going on. Also, yeah the "This is what it's like to be..." is a homage to the Revenge of the Sith novelization. Just not as cool. And yeah, Jaune so needs a grief counselor.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Initiation Day Part 3: Two New Teams</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Of course, Jaune and Kiva’s little fight hadn’t gone unnoticed. Sound traveled, especially in caves. So when Pyrrha heard the sounds of blades, the first thing she did was worry a little. Jaune hadn’t been back in at least several minutes and who knew what lurked out of sight. The second thing she did was grab both Miló and Akoúo̱ and head off into the deeper caverns.</p>
<p>Something odd had been going on since her first night at Beacon, she knew that much. First there was that Decade character, whoever he was. He claimed to be a friend of Beacon but Pyrrha didn’t really trust him. Firstly, he’d appeared out of nowhere and secondly he hid his face behind a mask. After all, how could you trust someone whose face you couldn’t see and couldn’t read? </p>
<p>It bothered her to say the least. Pyrrha actually hadn’t even heard of a semblance like the one Decade seemed to have actually. Yes, everyone’s semblance was different, that much was true but this was something else. Summoning -presumably- armor to your side and gaining powers beyond your wildest dreams with that armor? Yeah, there was something more going on here and Pyrrha wanted to know what was what. But that begged the question if this wasn’t a semblance then… what was it?</p>
<p>To be honest, Pyrrha wasn’t sure if she really wanted to know…</p>
<p>“P-Pyrrha?” Ruby stammered over her own words seeing the Nikos walk off into the deeper caves. Gone was her previous confidence.“W-Wait, you’re just going to leave us here, all alone in the dark? But I hate the dark!”</p>
<p>“Relax,” Weiss said trying to reassure her partner. Why exactly, she wasn’t sure. Oh well, maybe it was just because she couldn’t bear to deal with a panicky Huntress. “I’m sure Pyrrha will be back in a minute. She’s probably just going to go scout ahead, that’s all.”</p>
<p>“But what if that’s the Grimm’s plan?” Ruby asked nervously. “Go and separate us all, and then pick us off one by one?” </p>
<p>“Now that you mention it…” Weiss said before she brushed the thoughts from her mind. No need to panic just yet. “Wait wait wait, let’s sit calmly here and think about this okay? We heard swords right? Clashing swords. Grimm don’t fight amongst themselves, at least as far as we know. They’re too organized for that. From the sounds of it, there’s another Huntsman or Huntress down here meaning…”</p>
<p>“P-Money’s not alone, yay!” Ruby said, punching the air. Weiss blinked.</p>
<p>“Please refrain from referring to Pyrrha Nikos with derogatory names like P-Money. She deserves to be treated with more respect than that,” Weiss said. “You should know this. So stop acting like a child. It makes me ashamed to be seen with you. Pyrrha deserves someone more impressive than you as her partner. I highly doubt that she wants-”</p>
<p>Finally, Ruby had at last had enough. Standing up straight and looking Weiss directly in the eye, she said: “And how exactly do you know what Pyrrha wants?”</p>
<p>Weiss gaped, never having heard Ruby be so firm in her convictions except during that one moment in the forest with those spider Grimm. She had been struck soundly speechless, only managing to babble out: “Oh… I… Um…”</p>
<p>“Exactly,” Ruby said poking her partner -at best- in the chest. “You don’t. You’ve put Pyrrha up so high on a pedestal that to you she’s this goddess-like figure. Well, newsflash, she’s a normal girl with normal likes and normal worries who actually really hates being treated like she’s some goddess. So do me a favor Weiss, and stop it with that!”</p>
<p>“O-Oh, okay…” Weiss mumbled in this small voice. Ruby looked very smug with herself. Maybe now finally they could actually make some progress now that Weiss had been knocked off her high horse. Hopefully. Maybe. Ruby wasn’t exactly sure how confident she was given Weiss was really <em> really </em>stubborn. Oh yeah, this was going to be a long partnership at this rate.</p>
<p>“Now, we’ll assume Jaune is fine okay?” Ruby went on. “Like Pyrrha, he probably just went to scout ahead, search the tunnels and clear a path for us.”</p>
<p>“Okay, A, I don’t need protecting, and B have you seen Jaune?” Weiss asked, finally regaining her voice. “Nerdlinger? Has a few trading cards in his pocket?”</p>
<p>“Okay, A, what’s wrong with trading cards and B, can you spend a few moments without insulting someone?” Ruby asked pointedly and Weiss shrank back into herself. “Okay, so yeah he’s a bit of a dork. Nothing wrong with being a dork, I like dorks. I’m a dork! I own being a dork! But that doesn’t mean Jaune can’t handle himself. He’s in Beacon like the rest of us, so that means he’s the best of the best! He’s still got those Dust Crystals which <em> you </em>handed him and he seems to know his way around a blade.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, he’s here in Beacon to <em> learn,” </em>Weiss argued. “I don’t know if it slipped your mind or anything, but learning implies someone’s a student. We’re all students. We’re not all instant badasses despite what you might think!” she pointed out.</p>
<p>“Yes, well, um…” Ruby murmured. Ruby didn’t know what to be more shocked over, Weiss having a point or cursing.</p>
<p>“This isn’t an anime, Rose!” Weiss said. “We’re not all instant badasses the moment we just step foot into the glorious halls of Beacon. It’s a dangerous world out there, and we’re only students. I bet you money if we challenged any of the teachers to a duel, they’d cream us in a microsecond. Time to wake up to reality, Rose!”</p>
<p>“I… I don’t need to wake up to reality,” Ruby mumbled before continuing with an almost whiney: “I’m well aware we’re not as good as the professors, I <em> know </em>we’re not anywhere near Professor Goodwitch’s skill levels. I… I just wish you’d stop writing me off as this little girl who doesn’t know anything!”</p>
<p>At this, Weiss replied after a long silence: “I’ll… I’ll try.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Jaune had heard Pyrrha coming and knew it probably wasn’t him that she wanted to see. </p>
<p>“Henshin,” he said, changing back into Decade. Pyrrha arrived just in time to see multiple silhouettes converging on an armored figure glowing with a magenta hue. Emerald green eyes peered out of the darkness. “...well, that was close. Another few moments and uh, there goes the whole secret identity gig.”</p>
<p>“Yup,” Pyrrha said walking forwards with Miló in hand, the weapon at the ready. Miló was in javelin form, rapidly being changed to sword form. “Rather foolish of you really.”</p>
<p>“I, uh… Guess I shouldn’t have mentioned that to you right? I guess in retrospect, it’d probably have been better to let you go on thinking I was some armored golem or whatever.” Jaune as Decade said.</p>
<p>“Yup,” Pyrrha replied. “Now, you want to explain what you’re doing here or do I have to drag the information out of you? This is twice now you’ve been seen around Beacon’s grounds.”</p>
<p>“Well, I’m not sure the Emerald Forest exactly <em> counts </em> as school grounds, per se,” Jaune said readying the Ride Booker just in case. While he wasn’t confident in his chances, given how skilled Pyrrha was it couldn’t hurt. “Well, I suppose it does if you want a very loose definition. Very loose!”</p>
<p>“Also, care to explain why you seem to show up wherever Jaune is?” Pyrrha asked. “What are you, some sort of guardian angel?”</p>
<p>“I look after all of Beacon’s students,” Jaune said rapidly thinking up a lie. “I, also for the record, saw Jaune forging ahead. He was exploring the caverns, just to make sure there were no hidden surprises. Listen, if we hear any girly screams then I think then we can be worried. Jaune’s a bright student, good with the sword alright? He should be fine.”</p>
<p>“All the same,” Pyrrha said. “I think Professor Ozpin will want to have a few words with you. Professor Goodwitch as well.”</p>
<p>“So this is the part where we fight,” Jaune said with a sigh, hoping Pyrrha didn’t notice the little nervous swallow. “...I was hoping it didn’t have to come to this.”</p>
<p>Drawing the Ride Booker in gun mode, he let off a few quick shots, the bullets bouncing off Akoúo̱ and creating sparks. Decade rolled to the left just narrowly in time to avoid a swing from Miló. Slipping a rider card into his weapon, the Ride Booker sounded off: <span class="u"> <b>“Attack Ride: B-B-Blast!”</b> </span></p>
<p>Pyrrha raised her shield even as she was hit by a series of concussive blasts making her stagger. Jaune knew he stood no chance against the Invincible Girl of Argus -at least that’s what he’d heard the students call her- so his best bet of actually surviving this fight was catching her off guard. Jaune reached into the Ride Booker, going for Kabuto’s card before he swore under his breath. Missing? How could Kabuto’s card be missing? Unless… Oh Brothers, the Forest! When he crash-landed as Fourze it must have gotten lost in his own bumbling. Yeah, that was just <em> great. </em> Well, in any event, he had a proper substitute for the time being. <strong><span class="u">“</span><span class="u">Form Ride: Faiz Axel!” </span></strong></p>
<p>Pyrrha watched in shock as Decade changed forms entirely becoming this dark figure covered in glowing red lines, the figure’s chest opening up to form a pair of… were those wings? She couldn’t be sure. Not that it mattered anyways, flight or not this guy was going down. He owed her an explanation or two.</p>
<p>Then she was struck, again and then again. She didn’t even know where the blows were coming from, although she had noticed the figure had vanished. Then she realized, and swiftly changed Miló back to javelin form. Listening closely, she struck, and Decade went into a tumble tripping over Miló’s blade.</p>
<p>He soon regained his footing and despite briefly changing to a yellow-eyed form vanished once again in a blur of motion.</p>
<p>Jaune knew he had only ten seconds or so in Axel form. He didn’t quite know how he knew, but he did. The room became a blur, the entire cavern seemingly passing by and oh his head began to ache as he struggled to think about what was where. He needed to change, and fast. <span class="u"> <b>“Kamen Ride: Hibiki!”</b> </span></p>
<p>A demonic figure stood in front of Pyrrha now, her Miló changing into rifle form, Jaune side-stepping the shots. </p>
<p>“Who are you?” Pyrrha called out, the red-head on the warpath.</p>
<p>“Just a passing through Kamen Rider,” Jaune said sounding a hell of a lot more confident than he actually felt. He even threw in a little shrug for good measure. “Remember that!”</p>
<p>He summoned twin drumsticks -okay, odd weapon- to his hands and blew fire right at Pyrrha. The woman sidestepped and changed Miló to blade form once more. Jaune only just narrowly saw the strike coming and leaped behind and over his unwanted opponent. The blade whirled around to strike at him once more.</p>
<p>This time it was blocked by the borrowed Ongekibou Rekka. The twin drumsticks just barely held back the blade and it was obvious that Jaune was struggling. He kicked Pyrrha in the chest knocking her away before slipping another Rider Card into his belt. It proclaimed:  <span class="u"> <b>“Attack Ride: Kibōjutsu: Rekkadan!”</b> </span></p>
<p>From the drumstick heads came twin flaming bullets. Pyrrha raised her shield to deflect them before slicing at empty air. Little had she known but Decade had gone invisible via rider card, using this chance to flee and fight another day.</p>
<p>Jaune as soon as he felt confident enough to say he was away from Pyrrha canceled out his transformation. He fell down panting and sweating, collapsing up against another rock. Two fights in short order. This was getting out of hand, and really why did everyone seem to hate him whenever he went Decade? Did nobody ever listen to reason, did they not respect the cardinal rules of superheroing? Respect the secret identity and all that jazz?</p>
<p>Jaune idly wondered if Tsukasa ever had it this bad. Surely his luck was better than Jaune’s own right?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---------</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In another part of the forest was the unofficial team RNYB or however it was going to be ended up being spelled. An angered shout split the forest air, sending birds flying in a panic. “Argh, can you <em> believe </em>him?” Yang exclaimed, embers already starting to lick at her golden mane. “We were just trying to help, and Brothers above, the arrogance!”</p>
<p>“Yes, well some people won’t realize what they had until they lost it,” Blake said one hand ready to draw her weapon if necessary. The group had found a rare pathway through the timberlands, with a wind rushing up to greet them. They were getting closer and closer to the cliffsides, Blake knew. “I suspect Cardin and his team are probably the same way.”</p>
<p>“They could be the poster boys for it,” Yang decided before checking her compass. “But screw them. We’ve got more important matters to worry about right? Now, if we just keep going this way -barring any problems- we should be at the ruins in no time.”</p>
<p>“Barring any problems?” Blake snarked. “You mean like the problems we just keep seem to keep running into every five minutes?”</p>
<p>“Yes, well a forest is a forest, so…” Yang commented keeping an eye on the horizon. Shadows moved beyond them deep in the brush. She held up a hand, ejecting cartridge shells from her gauntlets and swiftly reloading them. “Hold up, speaking of problems I think we’re about to have company. You know, again.”</p>
<p>“What makes you so sure?” Blake said and almost immediately regretted asking. Already, her hair was beginning to stand on end. Alarm bells were already starting to go off in her head, something was very wrong indeed.</p>
<p>“Call it a woman's intuition…” Yang said to herself, her lilac eyes spotting this figure just a few feet beyond the path. Both Ember and Celica were at the ready. Then, from out of nowhere -or so it seemed- a red armored figure became visible. Yang didn’t know what it was actually, some new type of Grimm or someone with just very odd tastes in fashion. “There, you see that?”</p>
<p>“Yang, I don’t see… Oh!” Blake started before her eyes widened. She studied the figure and made note of its appearance. It was rather disconcerting actually, the eyes seemingly boring into her soul and judging her. Yet, they seemed familiar almost, but Blake just couldn’t quite where she’d seen them before. However, the fury housed in them was all too sickenly known to her. She hadn’t seen someone that angry at the world since… Him. Since Adam. Blake took several deep calming breaths. No, this wasn’t Adam, it couldn’t be. He was kingdoms away. Kingdoms!</p>
<p>Finally speaking, shakily Blake breathed out: “Well, that’s new. Armor almost looks Mistralian or something out of Anima’s forges.”</p>
<p>“Who cares about that, it’s going to die anyways,” Yang decided, glancing back at Blake. Okay, odd. She seemed almost nervous, which was pretty new. Blake really didn’t seem like the type to really lose her cool. Okay, yeah she’d start putting this situation in the ‘really bad thing’ column. To try and calm her nerves, Yang joked: “What I want to know is, of all the armor choices in the world why dress yourself up to look like a bug?”</p>
<p>“Like a…” Ren questioned before he noticed. Oh, well now that Yang pointed it out he supposed it did look rather like an Anima rhinoceros beetle. “Huh, well that is an odd fashion choice isn’t it?”</p>
<p>“Bah, it’s still going down anyways!” Yang snarled, blasting herself forwards with both Ember and Celica. </p>
<p>“Yang, wait! Don’t leave the… path.” Ren called but already Yang was after the beetle man. Ren sighed to himself, this was going to end badly. Yang chased it deeper into the woods, but it had seemingly vanished just as quickly as it arrived.</p>
<p>“How the hell…?” Yang muttered to herself as she began ejecting spent shells and reloading her weapons. Then she heard it, the sounds of fighting. She swore loudly as the sound of both Stormflower and Magnhild firing reached her ears. “Shit!”</p>
<p>Sure enough, when she returned to her team, she found them engaged in a brawl with yet another new warrior. This one was very, <em> very </em> draconic, the armor he bore a cross between a knight and some great beast. Yeah, there was your standard knight armor but the helm… well, it was almost organic in a way, monstrous. And a smaller dragon’s head protruded out from one… Well, it erupted out from where one of the hands <em> should </em>have been.</p>
<p>Slashing at the air with an angry snarl, the creature let out a roar before it sent out a searing blast of flames. Both Blake and Nora cartwheeled backwards to get some distance before Nora drew Magnhild.</p>
<p>“You know this only means I love you right?” Nora said, firing off a series of grenades. They converged in the shape of a heart. They whistled through the air like fireworks and peppered the area around the monster with explosions. To Nora’s shock, when the explosions faded away the monster stepped out of the smoke glowing with a sickeningly familiar light. </p>
<p>“W-Wait, Aura?” Blake whispered truly rattled. “But I thought the only things that possessed Aura were…”</p>
<p>“Huntsmen and Huntresses?” Nora agreed before they heard a familiar explosive. Yang with a guttural roar dived in.</p>
<p>“Coming in hot!” Yang shouted as she punched the creature through several trees. “Sorry, there’s only room for one little dragon around here! No pretenders or imitators! I’m one of a kind!”</p>
<p>“Y-Yeah, you’re certainly that...” Blake teased as she recovered and went for Gambol Shroud. Already the creature was recovering. But both Nora and her had a plan. Sharing a nod with her partner, Blake launched Gambol Shroud like a fantastic form of kusarigama. The ribbon that made up part of the weapon wrapped around the creature, the blade cutting into its hide. With a tug, Blake pulled the weapon -and the creature- forwards and back to her. </p>
<p>And right to the business end of Magnhild as the creature very swiftly found out, knocked for a loop. But Nora wasn’t done with it yet, heel dropping onto its shoulder. By all rights, bone should have shattered but the creature was evidently just that tough. It also had the dragon’s head it bore as a hand aimed directly at Nora’s head. Ducking her head just in time, a blast of searing flames erupted over her head. Nora let out a gasp, some of her hair sizzling from the blast. Shoving one end of Magnhild into the creature’s sternum, she called: <em> “It’s hammmmmmmmmer timmmmmeeee!” </em></p>
<p>Slamming Magnhild into the ground, her opposition was thrown into the air before Nora slammed the massive hammer right down on its head. Blowing the creature a kiss, she watched as it picked itself up and staggered about in a daze. Ren raced to deliver a palm strike, before his eyes widened as he heard the sound of rapid movement coming up from… behind him. Oh hell.</p>
<p>All four fighters were knocked to the floor, a red blur coming out of nowhere. Then the bug-armored figure was back, his partner -partner!- hoisted over his shoulder. And then he was gone again.</p>
<p>“...so,” Ren asked as he picked himself up off the ground, his teammates soon to follow all groaning in pain. “What was it you said about that thing going to die?”</p>
<p>“We were played like violins, no kazoos!” Yang grumbled in personal disgust. “Those two planned this. They <em> planned </em>this. Lure one of us away from the rest and then ambush who remained.”</p>
<p>“Normally I’d congratulate you on making it to thinking, but…” Blake trailed off.</p>
<p>“You’re too blown away by my awesomeness?” Yang teased.</p>
<p>“Oh hush!” Blake said. “You’re right, I admit it.”</p>
<p>“Mhmmn, what was that?” Yang asked. “Not sure I heard you correctly Blakey.”</p>
<p>“You were right,” Blake said ignoring the blush that ran up her face. “There, I said it. You were right. That was a planned ambush. Weaken us by drawing one of our number away and then ambush us.”</p>
<p>“Well, for beasts they’re smarter than they look…” Yang grumbled. “What were those things anyways? They didn’t look like any type of Grimm I’ve ever seen!”</p>
<p>“Well, new species are being discovered all the time,” Ren said. “Usually right when some poor squadron is killed by them. Generally with some survivors barely managing to tell the tale before expiring.”</p>
<p>“Oh yes, that’s real comforting,” Yang drawled. “You know what, you should be at birthday parties. Bet you’re a <em> real </em>thrill there!”</p>
<p>“He is!” Nora chimed in. “Rennie here makes a <em> great </em>clown!”</p>
<p>Blake and Yang looked at her oddly before deciding to think the better of it. “Well, whatever the case,” Blake went on. “We barely made a dent in that thing’s defenses. Something tells me we haven’t seen the last of it either.”</p>
<p>“And on that note…” Yang trailed off and a long silence followed. It was almost a relief to finally find the ruins they’d been directed towards. This ancient castle that now stood in front of them had seen better days really, rumors swirled about what it once was. A fort nestled deep in the Forest, to guard over some long lost civilization? There had been rumors of the entire Emerald Forest once playing host to several villages before nature reclaimed it. Or perhaps, as darker rumors liked to propose this place once was a shrine to the Grimm itself. Human sacrifice by some priest saying that humankind was too sick to survive. That the Grimm deserved to rule the earth and reclaim what was rightfully theirs.</p>
<p>Whatever the case, this set of ruins now played host to the yearly Initiation Day. This year, it seemed the challenge was to grab several chess pieces and bring them to the designated drop off point. Yang’s mind still was distracted by those Grimm she and her friends had met before. That is, if they were even Grimm at all. Something about them was too off to be even Grimm. And then there was the fact that they used Aura. Grimm never used Aura, at least not to that extent. So that begged the question, if they weren’t Grimm… well, then what were they? There were way too many questions about this year for Yang’s liking.</p>
<p>First the rumors of that Decade character circling about campus and now this. </p>
<p>“So, who wants what?” Yang said walking up to one of the chess pieces. Picking one up, a gold rook she smiled. “How about a cute little pony?”</p>
<p>Nervously, Blake kept her eyes on the forest around her. “Blake…” Yang leaned in poking her in the side.</p>
<p>“Right, sorry, what were you saying?” the woman asked.</p>
<p>“Hello, cute little horsie here!” Yang said, holding the rook up in front of Blake’s face. “How can you not go wrong with a cute little pony. I bet you as a girl wanted a pony. Didn’t you?”</p>
<p>“Well, you’re easily amused,” Blake observed. “Or easily distracted.”</p>
<p>“Eh, we all have our weaknesses,” Yang admitted with a small shrug setting herself down on a nearby rock. “So what’s eating you? Oh, is it those things? They’re still on your mind aren’t they?”</p>
<p>“As they should be,” Blake said. “They nearly killed us.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, only because they had the element of surprise -no thanks to me- but this time… This time we’ll be ready for them. See, I bet you money that when they come charging out of that forest we’ll kick their asses!” Yang said as she punched the air. “Just you watch and wait!”</p>
<p>Blake gave a small smile at Yang’s seemingly rampant enthusiasm. Now, Blake mused to herself. If only she could actually believe what the brawler was saying. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>---------</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Jaune and company continued with their little shortcut. “Are you absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure </span>
  </em>
  <span>you haven’t gotten us lost?” Weiss groaned out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure he’s quite sure,” Pyrrha said calmly. Her mind was actually still on Decade or whatever he called himself. What was his purpose here? He claimed to be benevolent, to help Beacon but that raised yet another question. If he was here to protect Beacon, then what was he here exactly to protect it </span>
  <em>
    <span>from? </span>
  </em>
  <span>That set off a line of questions Pyrrha would really rather not be thinking about to be honest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, yes you may be sure he’s quite sure, but what about me?” Weiss went on. “It seems we’ve just been walking in circles. Are you absolutely sure we’re not lost?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes yes, I’m quite sure,” Jaune replied tapping his compass. “I’ve been going over the steps we took in my head, and the direction we’ve been taking them in. I was good at Math back in public school. One of the few things I could honestly say I actually excelled at.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… uh, tried to do well at Math, but I never really had the patience for it. I was always distracted,” Ruby piped in. “Math was like, y’know, </span>
  <em>
    <span>torture!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Or if it wasn’t, it really should be classified as torture! I was always glancing at the clock and asking could I leave? Could I leave? Could I go?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune snorted. Yeah, he knew that feeling alright. He could certainly imagine it, given Ruby’s… hyperactive personality. It was actually sorta, well fun to be around. Even if Weiss begged to differ.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bet you were a fun classmate…” Weiss grumbled before Pyrrha smacked her over the head. “Ow! Will you get your hands off…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Weiss…” Pyrrha said warningly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, I’ll tutor you if you need it,” Weiss went on glancing at Ruby, who soon hugged her tightly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yay, nice Weiss is back!” the scythe wielder squealed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not being nice,” Weiss said although both Pyrrha and Jaune shared skeptical looks. “I’m only saying I will not have my reputation sullied by your poor grade point average. That is it. The friends I must be seen with, they must be as good as I am in everything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, so we’re friends now, is that it?” Ruby asked while Pyrrha beamed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I didn’t say that…” Weiss trailed off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, you did!” Ruby said perkily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I did no such thing!” Weiss refuted. “No ifs, ands, or buts!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh, must have misheard,” Ruby replied. “Because the way I heard it, you said you couldn’t be seen with friends who weren’t as good as you. Coming from you that sounds like an official declaration of friendship!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I said no such thing, end of story,” Weiss said before turning to Jaune. “Okay Fearless Leader, please do tell this… child that I said no such thing. Break this stalemate!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And grumpy ole Mean Weiss is back again…” Ruby mumbled, hanging her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, you kinda did…” Jaune said, raising an eyebrow. “Also, Fearless Leader? Does this mean you’re finally starting to accept me as the leader of Team Jaune?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Damnit…” Weiss grumbled. “Well, kinda. The way I figure it, Ozpin’s going to pair us off as Team JPRW whether I like it or not. So I’m just saying it how it is. Although I do intend to get several team positions changed, and put myself as the leader. Just saying it now so you won’t get confused when it happens later okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, daylight beckoned forcing the group to cover their eyes until finally the ruins became visible. Ruby, for her part, let out a shout of: </span>
  <em>
    <span>“FREEEEEEDDDOOOMMM!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was right up until she was barreled over by a very happy Yang. “Oh Brothers, Ruby… I was beginning to think that…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sis, not in front of my team…” Ruby whined as she struggled to pull herself out of the hug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blake smiled and Ren looked at her. “What?” the former White Fang asked. “It’s just strangely… heartwarming. I do </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>emotions you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, guess we’re all here,” Weiss said, picking up a chess piece for herself. “...wait, weren’t there more teams this year?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Careful Ice Queen, you almost sound concerned,” Pyrrha teased. “I hope you’re not coming down with something, otherwise people might think that…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up,” Weiss grumbled, placing another chest piece in the hoplite’s hands. “I’m not completely heartless.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, I am starting to get worried,” Pyrrha agreed. “You’d think there’d be more people here. It’s not that we’re late, because there’s still some of these chess pieces here. I am beginning to wonder… What’s keeping Cardin’s team?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does it really matter?” Nora asked her hands resting behind her head. “They’re jerks, the less we have to associate with them I say the better.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nora…” Ren said disapprovingly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? I’m just saying!” Nora said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope they didn’t get them!” Ruby said, pointing to the woods where the monstrous figures Team RNYB had faced were emerging, joined by two more. One resembled a giant bat while the other some form of monstrous</span>
  <span> white armored figure with rocket-ship style detailing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh man, you gotta be kidding me!” Yang shouted. “There’s two more of them?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blake’s eyes narrowed as she glanced at the white figure, that expression, it almost looked like… Oh boy. “Cardin?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait wait, that’s Cardin?” Yang asked. “That thing? But Cardin’s not… I mean…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune looked around recognizing the monsters as twisted versions of the Riders on his cards. Ryuki, Kiva, Fourze, and Kabuto. There wasn’t any place to transform nor was there any time to get away. Crap. Well then... Guess there was nothing for it. “Guys, get behind me. And promise you won’t breathe a word about what happens next.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you going to do? Drop your pants and make them die of laughter?” Weiss asked. “We need to run Jaune! The cliffs aren’t far, we can get the teachers to help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I’m done running,” Jaune decided as he pulled out a very familiar card. Along with it came a very familiar belt buckle. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Henshin!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <b><span class="u">“Kamen Ride: Decade!”</span> </b>
  <span>the belt proclaimed as armor formed around Jaune, several silhouettes converging on him. The armor shone a bright brilliant purple, eyes on the helmet glowing an emerald green.  Jaune drew the Ride Booker in sword mode, blocking a blow from Another Ryuki’s blade.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the…?” Ruby breathed as Pyrrha’s eyes widened. Jaune was Decade? Then that meant… Oooooh, she was so stupid. Then again, Jaune had held his own against her strange powers or no. Yeah, this confirmed it. He definitely had what it takes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You so owe us an explanation, blondie,” Weiss said, going for Myrtemaster. “If I don’t find it even remotely acceptable…” she trailed off in a warning tone</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I promise I’ll explain later, right now…” Jaune said as he planted his boot in Another Ryuki’s chest shoving the monstrous Rider backwards. “There’s this to deal with.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fighting soon broke out all across the forest, both Ren and Nora resuming their battle against the twisted counterpart to the Mirror Rider, Kamen Rider Ryuki. Nora cartwheeled backwards to avoid a slash from the twisted parody, Ren riddling the monster’s body with bullets. The monstrous Rider let out a roar, sending a searing blast of flame at Ren.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ren dived to the left as Nora let out a war cry slamming Magnhild directly into the monster’s skull. Another Ryuki staggered back in a daze. Nora could only guess which member of Cardin’s team it was underneath all that. Not that she cared really. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nearby, Weiss had… wait, was that a boarbatusk? Yeah, it was and it had seemingly come to her aid, ramming Another Kiva up against a tree, the bat-like monster screeching in rage and agony. Nora turned her attentions back to her opponent and her eyes widened, seeing the monster’s fist drawn back and it charging directly at her. The Another Rider encased his fist in flames and Nora just barely ducked her head to avoid her skull being caved in and presumably incinerated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She leaped backwards, grabbing Ren along with her just as a wall of flame sprung up between them and the Another Rider. “We can’t even get close to him!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>can…” Ren murmured as Yang went to town on Another Kiva, piledriving the monster into the ground. Ember and Celica expelled cartridges and Yang was left open as the bat creature pulled out a green pistol. Ren reacted, jumping behind Another Kiva and knocking the creature to the ground with a leg sweep. “I’ll handle this one. You help Nora.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gladly. I’ll settle this in 10 seconds flat.” Yang said, cracking her knuckles before reloading. She leaped through the flames not even caring about the heat before bombarding Another Ryuki with punches. A left hook, then a right hook and finally an upcut. Yang never allowed the monster a chance to breathe. Kneeing the creature in the stomach, she grabbed it by the neck and slammed its head into the ground. “See? What’d I say? Ten seconds!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ren roundhouse kicked Another Kiva before flipping backwards to avoid a blow from a massive hammer. He and Weiss shared a nod, Weiss tossing Ren skywards with a glyph before letting him dart from glyph to glyph. He was behind Another Kiva and then on top of the creature. Ren knocked the monstrous Rider into a tree, before Weiss darted forwards Myrtemaster’s blade encased in flame. Spinning around like a ballerina, flames danced in the wind like crafted from a wand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blades met in a delicate dance, Myrtemaster clashing with another sword, curved like the moon. Weiss caught the blade with Myrtemaster’s tip, before pulling Another Kiva towards her. Jumping skywards with the help of a glyph, she commanded her ghostly summon to pin Another Kiva to a tree with its tusks. Weiss with a cry came down on her opponent heel dropping right on top of the monster. Pushing off the creature and landing beside Ren, Weiss exchanged Dust crystals, and slammed the tip of her blade into the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ice crystals erupted from the earth and raced towards the Another Rider before Weiss once again exchanged crystals. Lightning stunned the creature before wind sent it flying up into a cyclone. Weiss went back to her ice crystal, making a pillar erupt from the ground with Ren leaping off of it and aiming a fist directly at Another Kiva’s head. The creature fell at last and Weiss raised her hand to high five Ren, and the Mistral native sighed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do I have to?” he asked. Weiss harrumphed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, you have to,” Weiss said. “Now it’s not nice to keep a lady </span>
  <em>
    <span>waiting…”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ren sighed before high-fiving Weiss, who nodded approvingly. She’d make a man out of him yet. Blake and Ruby had teamed up to give Another Kabuto the run-around. Blake had used her semblance to create clones of herself to keep the speedster off balance, making sure he didn’t know which way to turn.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby then stuck like lightning, coming from the left and then from the right pushing herself off trees to gain some extra momentum. Another Kabuto saw the next attack coming, heightened senses allowing him to intercept Ruby. He drew back his fist and the scythe wielder was sent sprawling to the ground. Another Kabuto threw back his head and howled before going into Clock Up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby’s eyes widened as the creature vanished in a blur. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“He’s… he’s as fast as me! Is… is that his semblance? Aww, no fair! I’m not supposed to be imitated!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby heard the sound of footsteps, just barely audible but they were there. Ruby picked herself up off the ground and vanished leaving only petals behind. The next few movements were almost impossible to keep track of, Blake only just managing to follow along with her Faunus eyesight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two fighters vanished into the forest and next thing Ruby knew she was at the cliff sides running up a cliff, with her opponent close behind. She kicked herself off the cliffside and then landed in the ruins below. Carefully she watched her opponent and slammed Crescent Rose into the ground. She fired off several rounds, shells being discharged with each shot. Beforehand, she’d grabbed several Dust Crystals off Weiss, figuring she’d need them. Her foresight paid off. Another Kabuto was now frozen to the cliffside wall and encased in ice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby vanished from sight and the next thing her opponent knew was Ruby was right next to him. He was sent flying through several feet of earth and rock and was now inside a cave. Ruby was rushing towards him and Another Kabuto stood his ground. Drawing his weapon he fired several shots to knock Ruby off balance. Once successful, he side kicked Ruby, his foot encased in crackling electricity. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You think you’re all that?” Dove’s voice growled out as Ruby clutched her side in pain. “Well guess what Rose, you’re not! Look at me now! I’ve got the power of Hell!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oooh, the edge,” Ruby coughed as she winced in pain. “You trying to cut yourself on all that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Soooo defiant,” Dove said with a heaping dose of mad laughter thrown in for the hell of it. Grabbing Ruby, he slammed her up against the wall several times and once more for good measure. “It’s almost a shame I’m going to have to beat you. I heard the rumors, you’re Ozpin’s star student! Well, look at you now! Look at me! Who’s the star student now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Still…” Ruby groaned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Still what?” Dove asked, leaning in. “Go on, speak up!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Still not you!” Ruby said before tasering him. Dove/Another Kabuto staggered back. “Oh, guess Yang was right. This thing </span>
  <em>
    <span>would </span>
  </em>
  <span>wind up coming in handy after all!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby went into near light speed once more, leaving a trail of red rose petals in her wake. Dove was knocked higher and higher with each strike, before Ruby implanted Crescent Rose into the ground once more. She held her ground, even as shots from the scythe turned sniper rifle threatened to knock her off her feet. Dove went down in a heap. His armor faded away with Ryuki’s card flying into -a very pleased- Ruby’s hands. She punched the air, exclaiming: “Game, set and match! Yep, still the baddest!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Far above, Jaune went sword to sword with Cardin/Another Fourze. The Rider dodged spin kicks from the twisted copy, a chainsaw of hard light ripping through the air. “You?” Cardin growled. “You’re a weak little bean sprout! What makes you think you have what it takes to be a Rider?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The chainsaw changed into another hard light construct. A gatling gun and it was all Jaune could to shoot the shots out of the air with the Ride Booker. “...I… I don’t know, okay? I’m still figuring it out!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cardin slammed a fist into Jaune’s stomach and he nearly doubled over. “Then why are you here?” Cardin growled. “Best you leave the grunt work to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>real </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kamen Riders. Who knows, when I’m done ruling the school maybe I’ll find a place for you! Like, say I don’t know janitorial work or something. Depends on how I feel.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Truly, the exact opposite of Gentaro in just about every way. Jaune knew this was his fault, he lost Fourze and the other cards meaning it was his responsibility to bring Cardin back down to earth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rolling to the left to avoid a swing from the frail Cardin was now swinging wildly around, Jaune fired several shots into the Another Rider’s chest. Jaune watched him stagger back and he shoved Cardin back with a boot to the chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Heh, so maybe there’s some fight left in you bean sprout,” Cardin growled as the gatling gun reformed around his leg. “Maybe I’ll have to reevaluate my opinion of you after all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune ran to avoid getting cut to pieces. “...But probably not!” Cardin decided tossing a missile at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune was sent flying by the force of the explosion and Cardin slammed his foot into Jaune’s chest with a powerful side kick. Cardin grabbed him by the helmet and slammed him headfirst into the ground. Planting a boot atop Jaune’s head, grinding his heel into his helmet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kicking him in the side, Cardin laughed as Jaune rolled along the ground kicking up earth and soil. “Shame really, I was hoping to have some actual fun with you. Oh well, guess I shouldn’t have set my hopes up so high…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Several shots pierced his aura shield, and Cardin clutched his side in pain. There stood Pyrrha, Miló in rifle mode. Running forwards with Akoúo̱ she flipped behind Cardin, knocking him to the ground with a leg sweep. Cardin was soon back on his feet only to get bashed several times with Akoúo̱, Pyrrha tossing the shield Captain America style after her final strike. Drawing back her fist she punched the Another Rider in the face before knocking him into her returning shield with a side kick. Retrieving Akoúo̱ she ran to Jaune’s side as Cardin staggered about in a daze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jaune!” Pyrrha called out to him. Gently, she shook him “Get up!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“You know, you could just lie here. Pyrrha’s so much more impressive than you anyways, I should have just given HER the powers. She’d make a great Decade!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tsukasa’s specter needled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jaune!” Pyrrha said. “I don’t know where you got those powers, but I know you can stop Cardin! Come on, you’re the only one!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Are you sure she’s right?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>the Tsukasa specter asked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I mean, up to now? Thus far you’ve been really nothing but a failure. A false Kamen Rider, a shadow of my former self!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cardin recovered and drew his mace with Pyrrha shifting Miló into sword form while grabbing the Ride Booker. She held back Cardin’s weapon before kicking him in the chest. Slicing downwards, she scored twin slashes across the chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“See, already she’s learned how to fight with the Ride Booker!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tsukasa continued. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“What can you do, compared to her? She’s got several more years of training up on you anyways! She’s the pride of her nation! You… you’re just a simple squire and a pretty bad one at that!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jaune!” Pyrrha called. “Listen, you were given those powers for a reason right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“More like desperation,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tsukasa went on. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I needed to keep the legacy alive somehow, though I can’t fathom why I chose you…”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jaune! Listen to me, you were given these powers for a reason,” Pyrrha said. “I don’t pretend to understand them, but you were given them for a reason!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Largely because I’m an idiot!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut… up,” Jaune growled at Tsukasa as he picked himself up off the ground. Slowly, he slipped a Rider Card into his driver. “You’re right Pyrrha. So I was. I haven’t figured it out yet or everything that I’m supposed to do but… You’re right. I do know this though. I won’t ever let you down and nor will I allow this… pretender to carry on about being a Rider when he knows absolutely nothing of it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Final Attack Ride: D-D-D-D-D-Decade!” </b>
  </span>
  <span>the driver proclaimed as Jaune leaped forwards into a flying side kick. Several cards of gold light sprang up in front of them, the Rider rushing through them. Cardin stood no chance, rolling along the ground the Fourze card flying directly into Jaune’s outstretched hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jaune, you did it!” Pyrrha called before smacking him upside the head. “Don’t ever scare me again like that, you hear?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“N-Noted.” Jaune stammered out rubbing the sore spot, Pyrrha apologizing profusely upon realization. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were awesome!” Ruby said, pulling Jaune into another tackling hug, her breasts firmly planted against Jaune’s back. He blushed a bright red under his helmet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“W-What about the others?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Here, Ruby handed him the missing Rider Cards. “We handled them. Oh yeah! We came, we saw, we kicked their-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A cough from Yang kept her from finishing the rest of the sentence. Cardin meanwhile rubbed his head in pain. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh… what happened?” he asked, remembering absolutely nothing. A quick check would confirm it was the same sort of thing for the rest of his team. Looking up, he saw Decade and asked nervously: “W-Who are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just a passing through Kamen Rider, remember that.” Jaune smiled. DiEnd, from a distance, watched and chuckled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, you certainly are kid…” he said before vanishing. Jaune never noticed him. Yeah, he could do this. He could do this. The remainder of the day flew by in a hurry, Jaune practically on a permanent high. He barely heard the Headmaster telling him, Weiss, Ruby and Pyrrha were now a team. He watched as Ruby embraced her uncle -slash new professor- in a hug. Yeah, he had a reason to fight now. His team. </span>
  <em>
    <span>His team.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In the city, DiEnd returned to the Hikari Studios, Natsumi looking up upon her old friend’s entrance. “Did… did you find him? Did you find my husband?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>DiEnd readied himself to give her the bad news. “N-Not your husband, no…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Natsumi’s teacup shattered upon hitting the floor.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. New Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You’re a… an actual superhero?” Weiss still couldn’t stop breathing as she looked at Jaune D’arc. Ever since she had seen him transform into Kamen Rider Decade, she didn’t know what to make of him anymore. Was he really just as flimsy and wimpy as his first few days had made him out to be? Or had he been secretly trained for this by some kind of underground force? Either way, she no longer felt confident in challenging him to a sparring match anymore; which for a Schnee like her, felt like an insult.</p><p>“...well, I-I wouldn’t go on record to say I’m a <em> superhero </em>per say…” Jaune mumbled, bitterly fighting back a thought about how superheroes screwed up less often than he did. He honestly should have seen this coming. After a few awkward first days of classes, finally came the questions.</p><p>“Ooh! Do you go into town stopping bad guys from stealing stuff? Like that Torchwick guy?” Ruby was eager to ask as she lifted her arm into the air. “Do you have a super-secret cave or something where you do all of your superhero prep work? I HAVE TO KNOW...” She said as she leaned over and clutched the table, looking deeply into Jaune’s eyes.</p><p>Jaune felt unnerved looking into Ruby’s all-consuming eyes. He felt his hands tensing up the more time he spent locking eyes with her. He tried to tug on his collar, fumbling around with his words to try and change the subject.</p><p>“Okay, 1, I’m just an ordinary guy. 2, no I don’t have a cave. Caves usually wind up being filled with Grimm,” Jaune tried to explain, not really sure if he sounded believable at all.</p><p>“...but you can exterminate Grimm with your kick-ass powers!” Ruby pointed out before doing several karate chops with her hands, and making kung fu noises. And completely missing the point.</p><p>“Ruby, I don’t think that’s all a superhero even does,” Pyrrha said as she gently pushed Ruby’s arm to the side. “But anyways, we need to get back to what’s important. When did you first get those powers of yours, Jaune? I’ve never seen a Semblance like that before.”</p><p>“That’s… that’s personal,” Jaune stuttered out. “And it’s not a semblance.”</p><p>He facepalmed, he’d said too much. Oh well, it was bound to get out eventually. Plus, there weren’t supposed to be any secrets amongst team members anyways. </p><p>“If it’s not a Semblance, then what is it?” Weiss cocked a brow. “Some new kind of dust? Father would have told me if we’d developed a new kind of polymorphic dust that augments bodily performance.”</p><p>“It’s the belt,” Jaune said, adjusting his tie nervously.</p><p>“The belt?” Ruby wandered over to the belt and tinkered with it. Surely enough, she made something move, which was one of the few steps to instigate Jaune’s Henshin. “What do we have here?” </p><p>She asked as she tried to get the belt to do the rest of the steps, but to no avail.</p><p>“...Oh honestly Ruby, it can’t be that hard to do!” Weiss said shoving her aside. “You’re probably just working it wrong.”</p><p>“Uh, girls, should we really be messing with this?” Pyrrha asked. “It’s Jaune’s, and if he doesn’t want to explain how it works right now…”</p><p>Jaune shot an appreciative smile at the redhead. “Thanks, Pyrrha.”</p><p>“Anyways, we should really think about how this is going to cut into our time here at Beacon,” said Weiss, changing the subject. “As it stands, nobody but us and Team NBYR knows that you’re this superhuman being with some kind of magical belt. But if the other students find out, they’re gonna gossip. And that’s gonna spread faster than wildfire. You know how school children are.”</p><p>“School children?” Ruby mouthed. “...was I just insulted?”</p><p>“I think we both were,” Jaune mouthed back.</p><p>“What? We <em> are </em> school children!” Weiss pouted. “At least, we are by coincidence. Not by choice.”</p><p>“What’s <em> that </em>supposed to mean?” Ruby asked.</p><p>Pyrrha let out a sigh, sharing an exhausted look with Jaune. It’d been a few days since the Emerald Forest, and some things it seemed never changed.</p><p>Jaune, for the record, was enjoying the sense of normality that brought him. Oh yeah, sure his team was curious -though who wouldn’t be?- but they were still <em> his </em>team. No real drastic changes, though… some things were more tiring than others.</p><p>Oh well, in a few days the questions would die down, and he would again just be ‘Jaune’ to them. For however cool Jaune actually was. The dork knight of justice with a sword and shield he barely knew how to use, Vomit Boy. Whoopee.</p><p>You know, somehow the prospect of fighting that gray-haired kickboxer with the mechanical legs again seemed less scary now. </p><p>Not a lot less, but a little. So that begged the question though, would he be back? Jaune had basically outed himself, or rather outed <em> Decade </em>as the Defender of Beacon. And it was pretty obvious gray hair didn’t actually care about that. Not to mention, he clearly knew Decade wasn’t as skilled as he was. So he wasn’t actually afraid of him. In a one on one match, Jaune knew gray hair could beat him. And he knew gray hair knew it too.</p><p>But <em> why </em>was he prowling around that night? Revenge for stopping his boss, Torchwick, at the bank that night? Seemed pretty petty of him, not to mention stupid risking breaking into Beacon just to settle a score. He could have easily been caught! </p><p>So what was the <em> real </em>reason? Spy for another school maybe? He used to be a Beacon student, so maybe some other school had hired him on the down-low. The Vytal Festival was coming up in a year or so, so maybe some other school like Shade wanted to get a look at their competition.</p><p>Jaune frowned. They were taking a hell of a risk though. So much for the spirit of friendly competition, eh?</p><p>“Well, we’d better get moving,” said Weiss as she moseyed towards the door. “Surely, our next session must be starting soon. Better not show up late. Come along. Don’t hang about.”</p><p> And with that, she left the room behind, and her teammates along with it.</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>“UNCLE QROW!” Ruby cried out as they arrived in the classroom. Like a little barrel of energy, she rushed towards her uncle. Like a heat seeking missile, she sought him out and nearly took him down in her enthusiasm. </p><p>“H-Hey squirt, let me breath alright?” the man said as a couple of sniggers came from the other side of the room. “How’s things? I saw you got your own team, never been so proud. I always knew you’d go places kid.”</p><p>“You’ve got a change of clothes! ….annnndddd you’re not drunk!” Ruby chirped, to more sniggers. Hearing this, Weiss suddenly wondered if Ozpin had really hired the right teacher.</p><p>“I’m sorry, he’s not drunk?” she piped up worriedly.</p><p>“Yeah, Qrow? Whew, he used to come to us smelling like beer!” Ruby said as she made her way to her desk. She shrugged. “You got used to it after a while.”</p><p>“...the fact that you say that does <em> wonders </em>for my confidence,” Weiss muttered. “What’s the Headmaster thinking, hiring a drunkard?”</p><p>“Oh, you’re the Schnee kid right? Winter’s little sister?” Qrow asked. “Yeah, you’ve got a bit of growing to do, but I’m sure one day you’ll look as beautiful as your older sister.”</p><p>Weiss looked about ready to die of shock. “How… how do you know my sister?”</p><p>“Old sparring buddies, your sister’s a real firecracker. Shame she doesn’t smile more. I really hate to see a beautiful woman not smiling. Mind you, with her?” Qrow rambled. “It’d probably break her face if she even tried. Damn shame, as I said.”</p><p>Weiss went white as a ghost.</p><p>“...Hey Weiss Queen, you alright?” Yang said, waving a hand in front of her face. “You look even paler than normal! Yo, Remnant to Weiss Queen!”</p><p>She snapped her fingers in front of her face several times before shrugging.</p><p>“Okay, so my name’s Qrow. Please, don’t call me Professor Qrow. I’m nowhere near stuffy enough for that,” Qrow said to the sounds of chuckling as he wrote his name on the board behind him. “Okay, so yeah, I’ll be replacing Professor Port. I don’t know the exact details of Port’s retirement, only it had something to do with Port valuing his remaining limbs.”</p><p>“Oh, beam me up now, father…” Weiss moaned lightly as she looked at Qrow addressing the students. This was NOT going to end well for any of them. She could tell from his tone of voice.</p><p>“Have some confidence, Weiss Cream!” Ruby said, punching her on the arm slightly. Weiss’ eye twitched slightly at the nickname. Another horrible pun, of course it was. And of course, the dolt would take after her sister with them. “Uncle Qrow’s cool! He’s a fully trained huntsman, and Ozpin hired him so he’s got some faith in the guy right?”</p><p>“Well, whether he has faith in him or not doesn't matter. Your uncle? He’s never done a class like this before, so for all that I know, he could be making up half of this stuff as he goes along,” Weiss remarked. “Not to mention, you yourself have commented that he’s usually DRUNK.”</p><p>“I’ve sobered up for the record, and I can also <em> hear </em>you,” Qrow commented to several snickers with Weiss looking mortified. “Now, obviously, I know kids. Meaning I know that you don't like being cooped up in a classroom for an hour right? I’m supposed to be the fun teacher. The cool one.”</p><p>“Wait, you don’t mean...” Nora’s eyes glistened with opportunity. “We’re gonna go outside and kick some butt live on campus?!” She exclaimed with glee, slamming her arms into the table.</p><p>Several people rubbed their ears at her shout, hoping they didn’t suffer any loss of hearing.</p><p>“Indoor voice, Nora,” reminded Ren, long-suffering. Qrow gave him a look of pity, the whipped man was forever the suffering man.</p><p>“...Um, yes. Exactly that. It’s a bright and sunny day, and I see no reason why we should waste it by staying inside,” Qrow said leading the herd of students through the hallways. “Now, obviously, Ozpin would have my head if I got any of you all killed on your first week. So we’re not going to go hunt Grimm.”</p><p>“Awwwwwww…” several of the more… enthusiastic students chorused, deflated. </p><p>Jaune and Yang meanwhile, had memorized the corridors in their offtime. They knew exactly where they were being led. Yang looked excited, while Jaune? ...Well, Jaune resigned himself to his fate, already feeling that particular form of oncoming dread.</p><p>“But what we will do,” Qrow said, leading them to an outdoor court, before kicking a crate of balls over. The rubber balls rolled along the grass, some bouncing along the concrete. “...is work on your dodging skills! Meaning…” he said with a grin.</p><p>“DODGEBALL!” Nora cried as Yang punched the air in excitement. “Oh yeah!”</p><p>“Oh, you’re so going down Weiss Queen!” Yang pointed at the Schnee, who had a ‘why me brothers’ look on her face. She voiced her displeasure.</p><p>“Oh, father would have a fit if he knew I was involved in this game of ruffians!”</p><p>“Well, best we don’t tell him then!” Qrow chimed.</p><p>“Oh, lighten up Weiss,” Pyrrha said. “I can see what Qrow is aiming for. If we’re fast on our feet, we’re less likely to get chewed up by the Grimm. Plus, we can coordinate with each other, get a feel for how we all work together. Besides, it’s fun!”</p><p>“And oh, trust me you look like you could use a bit more ‘fun’ in your life anyways,” Yang said as the class was divided up into two teams. “I’m still kicking your ass though.”</p><p>“See, that's the spirit!” Nora said to Weiss, looking at her. "Be more like Yang!"</p><p>"Now why would I want to?" Weiss muttered.</p><p>Ignoring her, Nora went on with a: “Together, we’ll conquer this court!”</p><p>“Is… is this a good time to mention I’ve always sucked at dodgeball?” Jaune stammered out. Ruby patted him on the back.</p><p>“Don’t worry, you’ll learn,” she said undoing her cloak and setting it aside for the moment, then she whispered into his ear. “Besides, you are a superhero. So I’m sure you’ll do great.”</p><p>So, after a quick change of clothes, the players took to the field.</p><p>Jaune never would honestly understand Dodgeball. Okay, yeah, that might have had something to do with him getting clobbered all the time but how in the Two Brothers was outfitting hunters and huntresses in training with semi dangerous weapons and asking them to go to town on each other any fun? It was supposedly a ‘fun time’, and yet most people got annihilated.</p><p>The whistle blew, and chaos reigned.</p><p>Hooray.</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>There were some people who didn’t have the gift for Dodgeball and some people it seemed who had blessed by the gods.</p><p>Guess which category Yang Xiao Long fell into?</p><p>Jaune, while he prayed for salvation and not to make a fool of himself, Yang? Yang ruled the court.</p><p>It was a riotous mess of noise, a practical sea of screams and shouts. Both sides were shouting insults at the other and people were whooping and hollering from the stands. </p><p>The blond brawler was nearly unstoppable, tossing ball after ball and somehow even without her sister’s semblance finding it impossible to be hit. Jaune could see her in the calamity, laughing like a mad woman and a golden blur of motion. He swallowed nervously. He was so dead.</p><p>Cardin, oh dear Brothers Cardin was no slouch himself. He was a mountain of muscle and what he lacked in brains he made up for in sheer brawn. To him, this wasn’t a friendly game either. It was a warzone.</p><p>He took people out left and right, and had formed a personal rivalry with Yang. No matter if they were on the same team or not. It was a case of who could outdo the other really.</p><p>Jaune channeled his other life as best as he could, just barely ducking a lobbed ball from Cardin. Yang began chewing him out, spitting and seething fire at the mace wielder. </p><p>Nora barreled past like a torpedo, and smacked a ball towards Cardin like a missile. He shoved Dove in front of him, a human shield.</p><p>Loud boooooos came up from the stands, jeering the dirty trick. </p><p>“...every man for himself, I guess…” Yang muttered. A ball flew towards Jaune, and he dove sliding along the ground like a trained professional.</p><p>Well, he’d had plenty of practice over the years dodging fast ones. Somebody whooped his name, but Jaune didn’t catch who. </p><p>Blake had been taken out early, the cat faunus not really interested in any of this. She’d let herself get hit and retreated to the stands. She grabbed a book and that was the end of it. </p><p>Velvet, this rabbit faunus on Jaune’s side had surprised everyone. As quiet as she was, she seemed to be <em> really </em>good at this. Jaune suspected she had plenty to let out at the class, and this was the healthy way of doing it.</p><p>Using her superior agility to her advantage, the rabbit girl leaped around the battlefield. She tossed a ball, it curving in midair and down went one of her enemies. Jaune winced. </p><p>He spiked a ball of his own, towards Yang surprising himself with his boldness. <em> Sorry, no hard feelings but it’s a fight to survive out here right now. And you’re </em> <b> <em>way </em> </b> <em> too good to be kept on the field. </em></p><p>Yang sidestepped, and laughed. “Oh, is that how it is?”</p><p>She spiked a ball of her own towards him, and it rocketed towards him like a missile. Jaune drawing on all of his strength dived to the left. He slammed to the ground, and ate grass. </p><p>“Up on your feet, Arc!” Nora barked out. “This is no place to die!”</p><p>Ruby was a blur of motion, dodging each and every ball with her super speed. Laughing like a loon, she tossed a multitude of balls. Bam, bam, bam! Down went three members of the class. Ruby punched the air.</p><p>And then she was taken down, Yang shouting: “No hard feelings sis!”</p><p>Ruby stuck out her tongue at her older sister and made her way to the stands. She sat herself down next to Weiss, the white-haired girl having been taken out early in the game.</p><p>Yang was roaring and screaming now, going after Pyrrha. Nobody dared to take her down, the sun dragon hissing a warning of pain if they did. </p><p>Pyrrha wasn’t afraid. Dear brothers, <em> Pyrrha. </em>If anyone eclipsed Yang in terms of sheer badassery right now, it was the Invincible Girl of Argus. Nobody was surprised, given Pyrrha had trained for years to get where she was right now.</p><p>She backflipped above a ball, and when it rebounded, she sidestepped it and watched as it rocketed back towards Yang. The ball returned to Yang’s hand, and she spiked it towards Pyrrha.</p><p>It just <em> barely </em>missed the redhead by a hair’s length. Yang’s jaw nearly dropped, how had… “Don’t tell me you have superspeed too!” she roared out in rage, her mane glowing a faint gold.</p><p>Pyrrha gave a secretive little smile, and Jaune caught it. He knew Pyyrha had done <em> something </em> but what exactly he wasn’t sure. Had she used her semblance? What was her semblance, actually? She’d never seemed keen on showing it off.</p><p>Whatever the case, it was clear Yang wouldn’t be taking down the redhead any time soon. The noise, the chaos, it was exactly like a battlefield -only without any actual danger of getting killed- and Pyrrha was a natural-born warrior. Here, she was home. Activity and competition suited her, bringing out her competitive side and hoo boy it was something else. </p><p>Jaune watched Velvet get taken down by a fast one, but Cardin’s victory high was a short-lived one. Jaune slammed a ball into his chest, and Cardin let out a low growl as he made his way to the stands. He gave the classic I’m watching you gesture, but Jaune didn’t care. He wasn’t afraid of him anymore.</p><p>The game continued.</p><p>“Good shot, Jaune!” Nora cried out before in her high she failed to protect Ren, the black-haired boy getting taken down by a shot from Sky. Nora spat and swore as she watched her BFF make his way to the bench. She soon got her revenge, taking down Russel in return for this slight. Sky managed to stay on the field.</p><p>With a lucky, and kinda cheap, shot down went Nora Valkyrie. Jaune winced, seeing Nora’s nose bleeding a little. </p><p>Pyrrha’s eyes steeled, and she fired a ball right at Sky. The last of team CRDL was off the field at last. The game turned into a deathmatch, both Pyrrha and Yang desperate to take the other out.</p><p>“GO PYRRHA!” Ruby shouted at the top of her lungs. She roared: “Take that bitch down!”</p><p>“Hey!” Yang barked. “So much for sisterly support!”</p><p>“Hey, that doesn’t matter out here!” Ruby returned fire as she waved a foam finger around. Where she’d gotten it was anybody’s guess. “All that matters is the game and your team! And you’re not on it! Now, go get her Pyr! Redheads unite!”</p><p>Pyrrha spun to avoid a fast one, before sliding along the grass to avoid a second ball. </p><p>“Just you and me, huh Jaune?” Pyrrha said. A flush was in her cheeks, the heat beginning to get to her.</p><p>“Y-Yeah, just you and me now.” Jaune nodded nervously. </p><p>The crowd thundered as the battle resumed. The excitement was at its peak, you could feel the tension in the air so thick that you could cut it with a knife. The massive crowd of people at the benches were whooping and hollering, sounding like howler monkeys at this point. Jaune swallowed, wow this was intense.</p><p>Yang fired another fast one, and Pyrrha just barely missed this one by a hair’s length. The redhead grabbed another ball and fired it at Yang. Nobody missed the way it grazed Yang’s hair, and Jaune’s keen eye spotted a blond lock fall ever so slowly to the ground.</p><p>Qrow swallowed and took a long sip from his water bottle.</p><p>“OH, YOU’RE GOING TO GET IT NOW!” Yang thundered, launching a ball like a fireball with her fury. It bounced off a pillar, and like a pinball it continued to do so before it gut-checked Pyrrha. A few ‘ooooooh’s came from the stand, Nora boooooing loudly.</p><p>“Oh well can’t win ‘em all I guess…” Pyrrha shrugged as she made her way to the stand. Yang smiled predatorily at Jaune.</p><p>“Just you and me now, Jauny boy…” Yang said, panting and sweating hard. Jaune’s eyes narrowed. Alright, you know what? Screw it. He’d managed to survive this long and if he’d go down he’d go down fighting.</p><p>“Bring it.” Jaune murmured, and Yang blinked swearing she must have misheard.</p><p>“...what was that?” she asked.</p><p>“I said bring it,” Jaune said a little bit louder, and the crowd roared. Pyrrha and Ruby shouted their approval. Weiss rolled her eyes, this was all so completely ridiculous to her. It was <em> just </em>a game, after all.</p><p>Knight vs dragon it became, Jaune dodging lobbed balls.</p><p>“You forget,” Jaune said as he dived below a ball. “I’ve played plenty of dodgeball matches back home. I managed to learn how to fight, to survive!’</p><p>“Yes, well,” Yang panted out. “You’ve never met me have you?”</p><p>Jaune side-stepped a ball, before tossing one of his own at Yang. Yang leaped to the right to avoid it, and tossed a ball of her own at Jaune. He hit dirt to avoid it before recovering and picking up a ball, before tossing it.</p><p>Ruby watched the whole thing like a tennis match. “Go Jaune!” she whooped. </p><p>“...never knew he had it in him,” Blake said from beside her. “Still, Yang’s not going to go down easily, if at all.”</p><p>“Piffle!” Ruby waved her off. “You’re only saying that because you’re on <em> her </em>side!”</p><p>“I’m not on anyone’s side,” Blake replied, flipping through another page of her book. “It’s just a game, no need to get so worked up about it.”</p><p>“What she said,” agreed Weiss. “It’s a game, don’t see why you’re so interested in it. It’s not like it’s a gladiatorial match or something.”</p><p>“It kinda is… just, y’know, less deadly,” Ruby remarked.</p><p>“Oh, I dunno,” Nora remarked. “Having a ball lobbed at you might take someone’s head off.”</p><p>“Yeah, thanks for the nightmares,” Pyrrha said looking at the orange-haired girl disapprovingly.</p><p>“What?” Nora asked innocently. “I’m just saying. You could probably turn those things into weapons! Oooooh, idea!” she sing-songed.</p><p>“Down girl,” Pyrrha said, gently shoving her friend down and she watched as Jaune spun to avoid a lobbed ball. She smiled in approval, her heart beating a little faster. He was a fast learner, he’d probably only just picked that up by watching her.</p><p>Was that his semblance? A photographic memory? Please please let it be true, she pleaded. A skill like that would make for a great ability against the Grimm. A trump card if they ever got in a tough spot.</p><p>Jaune meanwhile, had his heart pumping up a storm as he dodged thrown balls left and right. He dived to the ground again, a ball rocketing over his head and pinballing around the arena. He was sweating like a pig, and god he’d stink. Yeah, a nice hot shower sounded nice. </p><p>Yang was prancing right and left, trying to look for her next opening. Jaune let his head trail to the stands, and he met Ruby’s silver eyes. His heart beat a little faster, and he smiled at her. Ruby smiled back, and Jaune picked himself up off the ground before grabbing a ball.</p><p>“Last warning…” he said at Yang, who laughed.</p><p>“Oh, scary,” Yang said. “You’re like a little noodle. What can you do?”</p><p>Famous last words, as she went down having dropped her guard. The crowd went nuts as Jaune breathed out: “That.”</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, that was… awesome!” Ruby cheered as she hugged Jaune tightly, Yang wondering if she should go into protective big sister mode.</p><p>“...Brothers we stink,” she uttered before offering a hand to Jaune. “Okay, I take it back, you’re no Vomit Boy. So you’ve got some potential. Maximize it, capitalize on it. ...and get some meat on those bones, okay? That armor of yours is practically hanging off you.”</p><p>Somehow, Jaune suspected she wasn’t talking about his ‘daywear’.</p><p>“Y-Yeah, first things first, I need a shower,” Jaune said, taking a sniff of his pits and practically recoiling. “Yikes!”</p><p>Everyone took a few steps back, Ruby wrenching herself away from Jaune.</p><p>“Hey, ladies first!” Weiss said as she walked on by. “I’m a Schnee, I can’t afford to smell like this forever you know! I have appearances to keep up!”</p><p>“..you could have just set on out if you didn’t want to stink!” Ruby called after her.</p><p>“Kid’s got a point, Weiss Queen,” Qrow said and Weiss groaned. All of them, honestly! “Look, I’m going to be honest with you. You’re going to end up smelly a lot of the time. What, you think camping out in the wild comes with a portable shower? This isn’t Atlas kid, it’s not the lap of luxury. I don’t know what you were expecting when you came here, but it’s certainly not going to be mollycoddling you.”</p><p>“I… I understand,” Weiss said. “All the same, I stink so now if you excuse me!”</p><p>“Well, team JWRP (Jupiter) is off to a great start isn’t it?” Jaune said resignedly as Weiss marched off, her school clothes slung over her shoulder. Pyrrha patted his shoulder.</p><p>“I’m sure there are worse starts…” she encouraged.</p><p>“...what, with someone ending up dead?” Jaune asked. “Because I’m pretty sure that’s the only way to hit rock bottom compared to my abilities.”</p><p>“So why are you here anyways?” Pyrrha said when they were out of earshot. “Surely it can't be to become just The Defender of Beacon.”</p><p>Jaune winced, he knew that nickname would come back to bite him.</p><p>“Ah, well, when I got these powers I sorta figured I got them for a reason right?” Jaune said nervously, running a hand through his hair. Okay, maybe that wasn’t the full truth but it’d have to do for now. “I figured I might as well learn how to put them to good use.”</p><p>“And I’m sure as a hero you don’t just ignore people when they’re in trouble, right?” Pyrrha said. </p><p>“What are you getting at?” Jaune asked.</p><p>“I’m sorry to sound cruel, but if you’ve got any nighttime hobbies they’re going to interfere with your schoolwork. A tired brain is not a productive brain,” Pyrrha said. “Plus… well, I don’t want to find you coming back to the dorm beaten and bloody.”</p><p>“So what, I’m supposed to ignore people when they’re in trouble? Is that it?” Jaune hissed out.</p><p>“No, I’m not saying that,” Pyrrha said. “Helping people is part of a Huntsmans job!”</p><p>“Then what are you saying?” Jaune asked.</p><p>“I’m just saying, exercise good judgement when it comes to this,” Pyrrha said. “I don’t want you to rush headlong into some fight you may not be able to win. I… I don’t want to hear about you dying on the evening news!”</p><p>“I… I won’t, or you won’t I promise you that,” Jaune said.</p><p>“So that’s why we’ll be joining you on your little adventures!” Ruby beamed. “Just need to grab a few masks and stuff right? Weiss will need some convincing, but I’m sure she’ll come around! She does love her praise, and I’m pretty sure there’s no better way to get praised than saving people right?”</p><p>“Y-Yeah, that’s what I was suggesting…” Pyrrha stuttered out.</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>Ozpin was curious. Too curious in fact for Qrow’s liking. </p><p>“So, Oz,” Qrow said when he was back in the Headmaster’s office, clocks ticking away. He’d called all the professors in for an internal meeting. “Things are shaping up to be a really interesting year. That Jaune kid, he’s got good agility.”</p><p>“Already picking favorites Professor?” Ozpin asked raising an eyebrow. “Didn’t know you were the type. Or I suspected if you were, you’d wind up picking one of your nieces.”</p><p>“Out with it Oz,” Qrow said tiredly. “You want me here to keep a look out for that guy in the pink armor.”</p><p>“Magenta technically,” said Oobleck before taking a swig from his thermos. Qrow grabbed it out of his hand and drank it nearly dry. Hey, if he couldn’t have alcohol he’d have to substitute it with something.</p><p>“Oz, I really hope this is all worth it. You convincing me to go sober and spy on kids,” Qrow said. “Anyways, this guy in the pink… er, magenta. You really think he’s a threat?”</p><p>“I don’t know what he is,” Ozpin replied. “That’s why I want you to find out.”</p><p>“You’re not going to interrogate him are you?” Qrow asked, raising an eyebrow. “If what you suspect is true, and our new friend really is a student here than… Goddamnit Oz, he’s just a kid.”</p><p>“So was Mercury Black, and look what happened to him,” Ozpin pointed out. </p><p>“You don’t need to see threats everywhere,” Qrow pointed out.</p><p>“You don’t live as long as I do by being dumb,” Ozpin said. “You have to learn to think ahead.”</p><p>“Right, if that means seeing every kid in this school as a potential threat then I’m not sure I like thinking ahead,” Qrow said.</p><p>“Well, if you excuse me, I have to go conduct an interview for that new teacher,” Oobleck said. “You’re not going to see <em> her </em>as a threat as well are you Headmaster?”</p><p>And what, Qrow wondered, was he not telling them?</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>Salem was… intrigued. There was a new player in the game. Her spies in Vale had reported a new figure, with powers beyond anything anyone had ever seen. Or was it several new figures with mysterious powers?</p><p>She couldn’t be sure, the reports seemed to conflict.</p><p><em> “Was it you… Ozma? Did you empower someone new? Forge a new sword to use against me?” </em> Salem wondered to herself. <em> “It’s futile in the end, but I wonder… what exactly did you do?” </em></p><p>The description of one of these figures matched <em> him </em>, the man she had faced all those years ago. Decade, the so-called Destroyer of Worlds who only ended up destroyed by her own hand and under her boot.</p><p>Had Ozma empowered him as well? Well, if that was the case, if there was a second Decade… Salem looked forward to taking them down as well.</p><p>She made her way down towards a lower section of the castle, where Arthur was hard at work.</p><p>Inside a glowing green vat rested a gray-skinned creature.</p><p>“You sure about this?” Watts said. “I mean, I’m all for science but what’s the point of this?”</p><p>“Remember Watts, the problem with Grimm is that even they die. If we can crack the DNA sequencing…” Salem said. </p><p>“An immortal Grimm, ready to rise and continue the fight!” Watts laughed. “Imagine the look on some poor Huntsmans face when they see their freshly fallen foe ready to rise again!”</p><p>“And wouldn’t it make some nice mirror to you Ozma, or whatever you’re calling yourself nowadays…?” Salem said to herself. <em> “An ever resurrecting army of the undead? Oh, I’d love to see what you think, husband of mine!” </em></p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>Torchwick was concerned. Cinder wanted him to move up the plans huh? Boss lady did what boss lady wanted. Who was he to question this mysterious plan of hers.</p><p>Though Torchwick wondered what the endgame of this was. Destroy a few cities, cause panic and bring in the Grimm? Why though? What was the point of it all? Where was the money to be made? The score?</p><p>Gah, Cinder was crazy. No real vision. They had the White Fang in their plans, and if they had them… Well, Torchwick could see them being useful for more than just car bombs and terrorism. Money, that’s where the real fun lay. Not destruction.</p><p>He wondered, not for the first time, if he was in over his head. This wasn’t exactly what he had in mind for him and the kid. A criminal empire, sure. An empire with a lot of stuff! That’s what Torchwick had envisioned. Not seemingly mindless destruction.</p><p>The White Fang… Brothers above! Terrorists, is that who he’d lowered himself to working with?</p><p>Torchwick wasn’t prejudiced against faunus, not really, but these people… they scared him. Groups like them, with a major league chip on their shoulder and a real hatred for someone?</p><p>Not exactly reliable in the long term, and a good paycheck and fancy new weapons only went so far. Give them time, and they’d get a big head and do something stupid. And then he’d be left explaining to the bosslady how one of her own plans went balls up because she chose the wrong thugs to base her entire empire around.</p><p>Oh, this was going to go nasty. It wasn’t a matter of if it would, it was a matter of <em> when </em>it would. No bones about it. Torchwick just hoped he and the kid were far away from here when it did.</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>Cinder wondered what the hell her boss was thinking. Salem had a vision, that much was obvious, but what was the endgame? Oh, well, she knew what the endgame was but what was the point? </p><p>Kill off all humans and have the planet to herself?</p><p>Oh Dust. </p><p>What could make a person like that, she had to wonder? So angry at the world they were willing to tear it all down just to find some manner of peace.</p><p>More importantly, Cinder wondered what would become of her in the final act.</p><p>Cards didn’t seem to look good for her, and when the curtain call came… well! </p><p>Hopefully, she’d be able to convince Salem to leave some part of the planet for her when she was done rampaging. Or just to leave her alive period.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>Pyrrha was excited. Her first week at Beacon and she’d already made seven new friends. For the first time, she wasn’t the Invincible Girl of Argus or The Pride of Mistral. She was just… Pyrrha. </p><p>Okay, so Weiss needed a bit of reminding here and there but teething troubles were only natural for a new team.</p><p>Yeah, life was looking up! She even had a potential boyfriend. ...well, hopefully. She had to take things slow, see where this led. And hope her new best friend didn’t steal him out right from under her.</p><p>Brothers, she was jealous. Well, if it came down to it, she’d wish Ruby and Jaune her happiness. She wasn’t a child. If you loved someone, you let them go.</p><p>Love? Was it love? She wasn’t sure, really. All Pyrrha did know was Jaune did things to her that she hadn’t exactly felt before. She was… happy. His smile made her float like a cloud and he was just so sunny. There was something about him she couldn’t place, something he was still hiding.</p><p>Oh well, whatever it was she was sure he’d tell her when the time came.</p><p>Oh right, classes! The new professor would kill her if she was late on her first day!</p><p>Walking into the classroom she gave a little smile to Ruby and a bigger one to Jaune. Then, the new teacher -maybe hailing from Mistral by her features- walked into the room. Taking a piece of chalk, she wrote her name on the board. </p><p>“Pleasure to meet you all,” said the new teacher with a smile, though there was something in her eyes Pyrrha couldn’t place. Loss, pain? She wasn’t sure. “My name is Professor Hikari.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, you thought I'd be able to go one chapter without a KR character? Sorry, nope!</p><p>But yeah, Professor Qrow. This is a thing now. I'd always imagined him, if he ever taught at Beacon to be a less stuffy version of Professor Lupin. The cool teacher, and being an uncle himself he'd know exactly what teenagers would like. Beacon won't know what hit it.</p><p>Also, I know. It took me a bit to realize what team JWRP would pronounce. Shame on me. It took a completely unrelated piece I stumbled upon by pure coincidence to point it out to me. Shame on me, I know. Also, if my writing style seems different in places, blame Shadowmane. He helped me with the first third of this piece, get me back into gear if you will.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. High School Days</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>No, I'm not sorry with the Fourze reference. Why do you ask? Also, thinking about updating the number of chapters, because at the rate I'm going...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Ugh, it’s way too early to get up…” Ruby mumbled in her sleep as the dawn’s early light filtered in through her window blinds, rays of sunlight scattering across her body. She groaned, and pulled the covers up over her head. “...just five more minutes, okay dad?”</p><p>With a loud yelp, she was pulled out of bed by Weiss yanking the sheets out from under her.</p><p>“Hey!” she cried as she tumbled to the floor. “You don’t see me doing that to you, so what the fudge?”</p><p>“Part of being a good Huntress is keeping to a strict schedule,” Weiss lectured, already dressed in her uniform. “So that means no sleeping in, and getting up on time and preparing yourself for the day. I have already laid out a fresh pair of clothes on the desk, and a clean toothbrush near the sink. Really Ruby, you should have already had this done the night before.”</p><p>“Hey, I conked out okay?” Ruby said grabbing her uniform and marching off to the bathroom, Pyrrha at the other sink brushing her teeth. “I was up all night working on Oobleck’s assignment.”</p><p>“That’s Doctor Oobleck,” Weiss lectured. “He has been given a doctorate, and you shall acknowledge it.”</p><p>Ruby childishly stuck out her tongue at Weiss, before shutting the bathroom door as Pyrrha walked out.</p><p>“Remind you of anyone?” Jaune said with a small laugh as the two watched the exchange. “Do you have any family at home? Like, I know you have a mom and dad, but siblings? Anyone like that?”</p><p>“Actually, in my case, I’ve got two mothers,” Pyrrha said. “Sofia and Penelope. But yeah, I’ve got a few siblings. Not as many as your family, but I’ve got a few,” </p><p>“Wait, if you’ve got two…” Jaune trailed off before he slapped his face in recognition. “Atlas medical technology? I-I mean, I’ve heard it’s been doing some amazing things, but I never imagined…”</p><p>“Yeah, mom 1 as I call her, she was one of the first ones to buy into it,” Pyrrha said. “This was back in the days it cost a sizable fortune. Thank the Brothers she had more than enough skills to pay the bills otherwise…”</p><p>“Yikes!” Jaune replied. “Good thing you got that contract, right?”</p><p>“No, I got the contract a few years after mom 1 managed to pay everything off, and earn a sizable sum with her accounting skills,” Pyrrha said, averting her eyes as Jaune got dressed. Nothing she hadn’t seen before, admittedly, but all the same… “Though I will admit despite… well, everything else, it’s nice to be rich. N-Not because I’m greedy or anything, but to be able to give my family a nice house, and enough money for my sisters to go off to whatever school they want and pursue their dreams?”</p><p>“Yeah, that’s nice,” Jaune replied, grabbing his driver and rider cards before pocketing them. “You can stop looking away, I’m done.”</p><p>“Alright, people. Hup hup! Look alive!” Weiss called as Ruby emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed. “We’ve got a lot to do today, and only so little time to do it! Now I don’t know what the other teams are doing, but I aim to prove <em> my </em> team is the best in Beacon!”</p><p>“Technically it’s Jaune’s team…” Ruby pointed with Jaune giving her an appreciative nod. </p><p>“Hush, it’s my team as well. I’m the most experienced anyways,” Weiss said. “You two may be experienced at dodgeball, but I’m the most experienced here at practical matters. Stuff that actually matters, like surviving the Grimm.”</p><p>“Uh, technically Pyrrha is the one who’s won the arena bouts…” Ruby again piped up. Weiss deflated. </p><p>“So, if that’s the case, what do you suggest?” Weiss said to Pyrrha. </p><p>“I… actually, I was going to defer to you…” Pyrrha said. “You did take charge and all, you seem to have everything planned out.”</p><p>“Good, if that’s the case…” Weiss started before her stomach let out a very unladylike grumble. She flushed, before speaking. “First item on the agenda, breakfast.”</p><p>As the foursome strode through the halls to the cafeteria, Ruby looked towards her fellow redhead.</p><p>“Why didn’t you speak up?” she asked. “We can’t have Weiss just taking control like that!”</p><p>“I… I don’t want to cause conflict, that’s all,” Pyrrha said. “Weiss, she seems to have today planned out. Who am I to stop her? I… I just don’t want to cause friction in the team, that’s all.”</p><p>“Pyrrha…” Ruby whined. “You need to stand up for yourself, that’s the reason Weiss walks all over you!”</p><p>“She’s kinda right, you know,” Jaune said, making Pyrrha stare at him. “Listen, I’ll talk to Weiss later. See if I can get her to slow down, okay? She’s not the leader of this team, I am, and I’ll see if I can remind her of that.”</p><p>“Good luck with that,” Ruby said as she watched the Schnee Heiress saunter through the halls. “I’m not sure she listens to anyone…”</p><p>“Trouble in paradise, Rubles?” Yang said as she walked up. “Weiss Queen being a pain?”</p><p>“Yeah…” Ruby mumbled, hanging her head in defeat. “She’s… she’s so… uuugh!”</p><p>Ruby stamped her foot in frustration.</p><p>“She does seem to have a very… assertive outlook on life,” Ren agreed. “It can be a good thing if used properly, but on the other side of the same coin…”</p><p>“Eh, she just needs someone to drag her back into line,” Yang said with a little shrug. “The only thing Weiss understands is power, if you catch my drift. Maybe if you beat her ass in a spar, she’ll listen to you. She’s so used to everyone bowing to her every whim that taking orders is still new to her, that’s all. She’ll learn, even if you have to teach her yourself. So what do you say, Vomit Boy? You up for a little duel later?”</p><p>“I’m… I’m not sure I’m the right person, really,” Jaune disagreed with a small shake of his head. “She’s been formally trained for years, I’m still kinda new at this.”</p><p>“I dunno, you might have a chance, plus you kinda <em>are </em>the team leader. You’re the one she should be listening to,” Yang said. “Not the other way ‘round. Just sayin’.”</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>Jaune and Ruby were both observant enough, it paid off to notice the little things. Otherwise, you might end up dead on the battlefield. Or in Ruby’s case, smacking into a tree or over a cliff because you weren’t watching where you were going. That isn’t to say they’d be handing Adam Taurus his ass on a platter any time soon, but they did notice the little things. </p><p>Like every time Pyrrha flinched she was recognized in the halls, now they didn’t raise questions against it as the redhead deserved her privacy but they still noticed.</p><p>So both Jaune and Ruby elected to help her from time to time. Whenever they saw a large group of fans coming her way, they stepped in between Pyrrha and them forming a wall. Or just annoyed the fans off by asking if they knew who <em> they </em>were. One grateful smile later, and all was well. </p><p>“She really hates it, doesn’t she?” Ruby sighed over breakfast. “I thought I’d like to get famous, become a real hero. Be an idol for young huntresses everywhere, but right now? I… I don’t know.”</p><p>“It really sucks doesn’t it?” Jaune said barely touching his food, his mind lost in thought. “I can’t imagine having to put up with that every day.”</p><p>“Hey, look at the bright side,” Ruby said with a smile. “Least she’s got us now, right? And Weiss, but that’s another story.”</p><p>“Soooo… you really want to become an idol for young huntresses?” Jaune said. “I thought it was just becoming famous for the thrill of it. So you could get better missions, and save more people.”</p><p>“Well, there’s that too. But I want to become an idol for little girls as well,” Ruby said. “It’s mostly a man’s world innit?”</p><p>“Well, I…” Jaune started off before considering how most of the well-known Hunters were guys. “Okay, fair enough. I’ll give you that one.”</p><p>“See, exactly!” Ruby said before gesturing around the cafeteria. “Look around, what do you see? Huntsman and huntresses in training. Forgive me if I sound like one of <em> those </em>girls, but again it’s mostly a man’s world. Most of my fellow girls? They’re going to drop out, or go on for a few years but eventually wind up becoming housewives. Ugh, no thank you. What’s wrong with becoming known for kicking Grimm ass, am I right? Heck , there was Maria Calavera right? She inspired my uncle Qrow to become a Huntsman. Even inspired his weapon, Harbinger. That’s what I want to do, go on to inspire the next generation.”</p><p>“And there’s your mother right?” Jaune put in. “I’ve heard bits and pieces about her, she was awesome.”</p><p>“Yep,” Ruby said with a small nod, her eyes a bit watery. She dabbed at them with a napkin. “Sorry, it’s just… well, mom was a superhero. Slayer of monsters one day, and baker of cookies. I guess that’s another part of the reason. Take up her legacy.”</p><p>“Which part?” Jaune teased.</p><p>“Shut up!” Ruby laughed, punching him in the arm. </p><p>“Well, however you plan to do it,” Jaune replied. “I’ll be with you every step of the way. I never did thank you by the way, for helping to reforge Crocea Mors. I’ve never been good with metalworking.”</p><p>“Think nothing of it,” Ruby said. “A huntsman is only as good as his weapon, and obviously you can’t use your <em> other </em>weapon now can you?” </p><p>“No, I guess not. Not unless I want to give away my identity,” Jaune laughed. “Let’s hope I can keep it under wraps better than I did in the Forest eh?”</p><p>“You know, something always bugged me about superheroes and secret identities,” Ruby remarked. “Apologies if I freak you out or anything, but we live in an age of digital media right? What’s to stop someone from going to snap a photo, then going to find some facial recognition on their scroll?”</p><p>“Well, masks are a thing right?” Jaune debated.</p><p>“Ah, but not all superheroes wear masks,” Ruby said. “Plus, there’s body types, voice recognition, and all sorts of stuff right?”</p><p>“So you’re saying I should upgrade my suit to distort my voice?” Jaune replied.</p><p>“Well, yes, obviously. Maybe add in some fake muscle. Throw people off your trail,” Ruby said before letting out a little squeak. “...and now I just realized we probably shouldn't be talking about this stuff in public. Frak, frak, and more frak!”</p><p>“Well, if it helps,” Jaune laughed bitterly. “I’m pretty sure no secret can be kept in this place for long. But yeah, thanks for the help with Crocea.”</p><p>“You’re my best friend Jaune,” Ruby said with a smile that made his heart beat just a little faster. “It’s what friends do, right?”</p><p>“Speaking of friends, you think we can get through to Weiss?” Jaune asked.</p><p>“I’m… I’m honestly not sure,” Jaune replied. “I <em> want </em>to get through to her, don’t get me wrong, but on the other hand… Well, I don’t actually mind her bossing us around in some ways.”</p><p>“You got a sadomasochism fetish or something?” Ruby asked, making Jaune nearly choke on his apple. It just felt wrong hearing something so <em> crude </em> come out of sweet innocent Ruby’s mouth. Well, apparently not so sweet and innocent. “Is that it?”</p><p>“NO!” Jaune shouted perhaps a little bit too loudly, as the rest of the cafeteria looked at them. He quickly lowered his voice. “It’s just… well, she feels like, well a mom I guess. She’s on top of everything and I’m… I’m just not. She’s got our schedules laid out and everything.”</p><p>“Yeah, I know what you mean. Nothing wrong with having a sense of order in your life, though she could stand to be a bit less of a bossy boots about it,” Ruby muttered. “Still, whenever I look at her? Her eyes, they seem so… sad. I want to help change that.”</p><p>“You’re a real gem, Ruby, you know that?” Jaune said, stunning even himself.</p><p>“I know, it’s a curse!” </p><p>Then, their eyes were drawn to another portion of the cafeteria. Cardin was up to his usual tricks again, with him and his team mocking Velvet.</p><p>“So you got held back?” Sky teased. “I thought you were supposed to be top of your class? And what’s with that dorky camera anyways? The school newspaper is only for second year students!”</p><p>“Ow, stop, that hurts!” Velvet cried as Dove pulled on her ears. “Let go! Please, stop…”</p><p>“I told you it was real!” Dove said. “What a freak!”</p><p>A low growl came from nearby, Blake clenching her plate tightly. Yang had to place a firm hand on her so the ninja wouldn’t fly off the handle. Actually, Jaune, now that he thought of it, really hadn’t seen Blake legitimately angry. And to be honest, he wasn’t sure he wanted to. </p><p>“...what a tool,” Ruby muttered glaring daggers at Cardin, who’d now joined in on the tugging. “I wish he remembered you knocking him silly. Ooooh, I wish he did.”</p><p>“Atrocious. I can't stand people like him,” Pyrrha grumbled before looking to Jaune, who tugged at his hoodie. “Shouldn’t we do something?” </p><p>“We’d get in trouble, though…” Jaune said though by the look on his face he was a few steps away from ignoring his own advice. </p><p>“Yeah, well in a minute, Cardin’s going to be in <em> big </em>trouble…” Ruby muttered slamming a fist into her outstretched palm. “Like, I know there’s not supposed to be any fighting in school but…”</p><p>“MR. WINCHESTER!” came a bark from the other side of the room, and both Ruby and Yang’s heads whirled around so fast they’d probably later cite whiplash. In strode Qrow, looking quite disapproving of Team CRDL. “Control your team.”</p><p>Ruby blinked, she hadn’t seen her Uncle Qrow that angry in ages. Not since his sister was brought up a few years ago at a family dinner. “Huh, wow, seems going sober did wonders for him…”</p><p>“I still can’t believe Professor Ozpin hired a drunk…” Jaune murmured to himself and Ruby’s head whipped around to look at him.</p><p>“Excuse you, my uncle’s a very cool drunk!” she piped up at him. “Well, very cool <em> former </em>drunk I guess now.”</p><p>“But sir…” Cardin stammered out, and despite his muscles he looked suddenly very small next to the professional Huntsman. </p><p>“But nothing,” Qrow said. “Ms. Scarlatina may very well be backing you up in the field one day, and if I was you, I would not treat her like she’s something you wipe from your boot. Best not to give her a reason to suddenly abandon you to the creatures of the Grimm eh?” </p><p>“Ooooh, diss from Uncle Qrow!” Yang shouted loudly, making Blake do a small but noticeable flinch. Enhanced Faunus hearing, no doubt Jaune reasoned. Velvet had flinched as well, and seeing this, Blake smacked her teammate over the head. Quieting herself, but only slightly, Yang continued with a: “I’d listen to the man, Cardin! Guy knows what he’s talking about!”</p><p>Cardin very quickly quieted himself, either from fear of his professor or actually growing a brain cell or two. Something told Jaune the former was more likely than the latter.</p><p>Very quickly, he and his team departed back into the crowd and to their seats.</p><p>“I apologize, Ms. Scarlatina,” Qrow said kneeling next to the smaller girl. “If they come after you again, please tell me or Headmaster Ozpin. This school does not tolerate bullying.”</p><p>“I… I’ll think about it,” Velvet said, rubbing at her ears in pain, not really sounding convinced. Jaune wasn’t sure he could blame her, this shouldn’t have happened at all and something told him it hadn’t been the first time. All the same, she did shoot her professor a grateful smile. “Thank you.”</p><p>“Brothers,” Nora said, helping Velvet back to her seat. Students looked out for each other after all. “Someone needs to teach that bastard a lesson.”</p><p>“Language,” said Ren though it was clearly only half-heartedly. Either he shared her sentiments or had long since given up trying to correct her. Either one was possible, really.</p><p>“Yeah, who in the h, e, double hockey sticks does he think he’s playing at?” Ruby babbled. “Uncle Qrow’s right. You could be backing him up in the field one day, and honestly not sure I’d be the one to help him.”</p><p>“Ruby…” Pyrrha scolded.</p><p>“What, you said it yourself! You can’t stand people like him, right? Isn’t that what you said?” Ruby asked. “Guy’s a jerk. Him and his whole team.”</p><p>“They’re not worth it,” Jaune said with a shake of his head. “Maybe they’ll learn, maybe they won’t.”</p><p>“Ooooh, really burns me up though,” Ruby muttered taking a shot of her coffee. “Again, I wish Cardin remembers you taking his butt for a spin.”</p><p>“Actually, I think he might,” Pyrrha said and Ruby turned to look back at her.</p><p>“How’d you figure?” she asked.</p><p>“Well, no offense Jaune but you’re a pretty good target for guys like Cardin.” Pyrrha began, pausing slightly.</p><p>“None taken,” Jaune waved his hand dismissively. “I accept my failings.”</p><p>“Soooo… Why’s he been leaving you alone since the Forest?” Pyrrha asked. “I think on some subconscious level, he does remember you beating him.”</p><p>“Well, let’s hope it <em> stays </em> subconscious,” Weiss said, speaking up for the first time. “I don’t know about you, but I’d actually like it if Jaune’s secret double life stays that way. I’m not quite sure we can explain to Headmaster Ozpin about this kind of thing.”</p><p>“Ooooh…” Ruby sucked in a breath, Jaune soon to follow. “Yeah, good point. Yikes.”</p><p>Privately, Jaune had to wonder if the Headmaster didn’t already know. He seemed to be on top of just about everything in this school. So who was to say he didn’t already know what kind of things Jaune didn’t do on the side?</p><p>Jaune wasn’t sure if he liked that idea.</p><p>In any event, classes began and one of the first was headed by Professor Goodwitch. It was basically a combat demonstration, really. It also gave Jaune a chance to get Cardin back for his earlier behavior.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3AfPZ4NepI"> Well, at least in theory. </a> In practice, he wasn’t sure if he could keep up with the more experienced knight.</p><p><em> “Okay, you can do this Jaune,” </em> the blond told himself. <em> “You can keep up with this guy, just remember apply your skills you’ve been learning as Decade to this. Don’t go too far, don’t let them on to what you can actually do, but teach Cardin a lesson.” </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em><br/>
</em>Jaune let out a yelp as Cardin brought his mace, nicknamed the Executioner, down. He just barely avoided the strike. “This is the part where you lose.”</p><p>“Oh yeah sure,” Jaune said as he blocked the mace with his shield. “Pretty sure I can handle you.”</p><p>“You may be king of the court, but you’re no knight in shining armor,” Cardin said, shoving the tip of The Executioner into Jaune’s stomach sending him flying back. “You humiliated me and my team!”</p><p>“Pretty sure you don’t need much help doing that,” Jaune said, blocking another mace hit from a now furious Cardin. He knew to wear his opponent down, then close in for the finisher. He could beat Cardin, he knew it. He’d beaten him as Decade, when Cardin was Another Fourze. While Crocea Mors didn’t have the fancy mechashift capabilities as the Ride Booker, the skills were still there. “By the way, going after Velvet like that? Real classy. I’m sure you must feel so proud of you and your team, picking on a girl. Yep, real knightly behavior!”</p><p>Crocea’s blade blocked Cardin’s mace, and Cardin struck again only for Jaune to again catch the mace with the flat of his blade. Jaune slammed his shield into Cardin’s armor, making the knight stagger back slightly. Jaune ran forwards, going into a spin before slamming his boot in Cardin’s chest plate, cracking it slightly. </p><p>The crowd ‘oohed’ winching in unison, Ruby let out a loud cheer spurring Jaune onwards. Crocea and The Executioner met, sparks flying before both knights slid backwards.</p><p>“What do you know?” Cardin snapped, seeing red. “You’re just a little bean sprout! You got lucky!”</p><p>Again, Jaune was forced to block a strike from Cardin’s mace before rolling to the left to avoid another powerful swing. Yang let out a whoop and a holler as she saw Jaune avoid the strike, Weiss sighing and rolling her eyes before grumbling: “Can you just contain yourself, or do you have to work at being obnoxious?”<br/>
<br/>
“Aww, admit it Weiss Queen,” Yang grumbled. “You like this, seeing the bastard get his ass handed to him.”<br/>
<br/>
“That’s another two lien for the swear jar, Yang!” Ruby reminded, with Yang rolling her eyes.</p><p>“Hey, don’t think I didn’t hear you cursing on the field yesterday!” Yang replied, making her sister blush.</p><p>“Yes, um well…” Ruby mumbled, shuffling her feet looking redder than ever. “I got caught up in the spirit of competition okay?”</p><p>A quick flash of the sword and Cardin was on the floor. The aura meter above dropped slightly, but Cardin was back on his feet and he struck with his mace. Again, Jaune was forced to block with his shield and a loud ringing sound reverberated out through the room. Cardin took advantage of Jaune being stunned, before headbutting him and shoving a fist into his gut.</p><p>Ruby let out a loud ‘booooo’, crying: “Cheap shot, someone card him for that!”</p><p>“Or <em> Cardin </em>him?” </p><p>“Not the time for puns, Yang!”</p><p>Jaune slid backwards, his vision clearing. And just in time too, as came Cardin. Jaune <em> spun </em>out of the way, remembering the dodgeball game from before. He bashed Cardin with his shield, making the more muscled Huntsman stumble. </p><p><em> “Right right, dial it back,” </em> Jaune told himself over the roar of the crowd. <em> “People are going to have to start to look at the more promising students if they want to figure out who Decade is. Going to have to throw them off my trail.” </em></p><p>He let himself be hit, and was thrown to the floor by a powerful blow from Cardin’s mace. His aura dropped almost halfway. <em> “No more fancy moves, just act how a normal Beacon student should in a fight.” </em></p><p>He elbowed Cardin in the face, perhaps a bit stronger than necessary but he felt righteous rage course through him at the thought of Velvet. What if it had been Ruby or Pyrrha he’d been picking on? Hell no!</p><p>“Break his legs!” came a cry from, well guess who.</p><p><em> “Ms. Valkyrie!” </em> admonished Professor Goodwitch in a frankly astonished tone of voice.</p><p>“What?” Nora asked. “He was picking on a little bunny girl, we don’t pick on cute little bunny girls!”</p><p>Blade and mace met again, several times in fact as sparks flew. Eyes narrowed as neither knight was intent on giving in. Again, Jaune rolled to the left to avoid a strike from The Executioner.</p><p>“Also, I gotta ask. The Executioner? Really?” Jaune asked, holding the mace back. “Are you overcompensating for something? Like, do we have to talk? There’s no shame in admitting it. It’s a common problem.”</p><p>“Oh shut up!” Cardin roared smacking him with his mace, ripping Jaune’s shoulder armor free. Jaune’s shield dropped to the floor, and he clutched his now bruised arm in pain. <em> “Okay then, don’t get cocky. Mental note. Look on the bright side, least you’re not bleeding. Yet.” </em></p><p>Jaune managed to force the pain back, and using his blade pushed upwards and sent Cardin’s mace flying. With a punch to the face, he knocked the brown-haired boy to the floor.</p><p>“That’s enough!” cried Goodwitch. “"Students, as you can see, Mr. Winchestor's Aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-style duel, this would indicate that Cardin is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match. Mr. Winchester. Gauging your Aura will help you decide when it's appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more... defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf, now, would we?”</p><p>“Speak for yourself,” Yang muttered as Cardin collected his things, as Pyrrha began looking over her partner.</p><p>“Well, that could have gone better…” Jaune muttered. “<em> Owww… </em> Things they don’t tell you about being a knight, Part B…”</p><p>“You dunce…” Weiss shook her head. “Why’d you feel the need to throw yourself at Cardin like that?”</p><p>“You make it sound as if I was going to have sex with him,” Jaune said ignoring the blushes on Ruby, Pyrrha and Blake’s faces. “In which case, ewwwwww…”</p><p>“Dummkopf!” Weiss said smacking him around the head. “I’m just saying, you don’t need to prove yourself. We get it, you’re a knight in shining armor!”</p><p>“I’m also team leader, I want to prove to people I’m worthy of that title,” Jaune mumbled. “What good am I if I’m not worthy of that?”</p><p>“But you <em> are </em> worthy,” Weiss grumbled. “I don’t like to admit it, so don’t expect me to do it again, but you got us out of the forest alive. So you’re at least worth <em> something. </em>But there’s no need to get yourself killed just to prove a point!”</p><p>“Wait, I’m sorry, but did you just compliment our Fearless Leader?” Ruby said with a smug little smile.</p><p>“As I said, don’t expect me to do it again,” Weiss huffed before marching off. “Now come on, we mustn't be late for our next class. We’ll get Jaune’s armor fixed later after class, we’re already running late as it is. Come along!”</p><p>“Professor Hikari again right?” Ruby said. “I like her, she’s ‘hip’.”</p><p>“Of course you do,” Weiss said. “I just like her because she’s a woman. It's a very honorable position, teaching. And really filled by mostly males, actually. There’s a distinct gap that needs to be filled.”</p><p>“Suck-up,” Ruby said.</p><p>“It helps to have connections,” Weiss lectured. “You really should think about making some of your own. You need to put more focus on your studies, Ruby. We’re not here to goof off, we’re here to learn how to <em> survive </em>.”</p><p>“I know that Weiss!” Ruby said. “You think I haven’t been putting in my all?”</p><p>“I’m not sure you are, actually. Let me ask you something,” Weiss said. “Why do you think I’m so hard on you?”</p><p>“Because…” Ruby said twiddling her thumbs and not really coming up with an answer.</p><p>“It’s because I want to see you succeed, I don’t want to be seen around a failing team and I don’t want you to drag me down with you. Let me put this into perspective, you skipped ahead two years right? What do you think you missed during that time?” Weiss lectured poking Ruby in the chest. “There will be tests ahead, and I don’t want you to get caught off guard by some question just because you don’t know the material. Just because you refused to read the material because you thought you could just breeze by on what little you have actually learned.”</p><p>Without a word further on the matter, she strode to her desk, opened up the textbook and began waiting on Professor Hikari. Ruby tugged her cloak closer, looking rather ashamed of herself and slightly annoyed.</p><p>“Grumpy Ice Queen, she thinks she knows everything…” she muttered, before with a sigh opened up her textbook.</p><p>“You were a little hard on her, don’t you think?” Jaune asked, sliding next to Weiss.</p><p>“I don’t know Jaune, I can sorta see where she’s coming from,” Pyrrha admitted. “E-Even if I-I admit she could have handled it better…” </p><p>Then, the Professor walked in. She, with a sigh, walked over to Jaune and Pyrrha. “No talking in class, please. If you don’t mind, I’d like you to silence yourselves,” said Professor Hikari looking oh so very tired. “Actually, I have an idea. I was meaning to cover this in my lesson anyways, so consider this a hands-on experience.”</p><p>With a press of her finger to Jaune’s neck, the blond began laughing controllably. </p><p>“Jaune!” Pyrrha cried out as she caught the still giggling like an idiot knight. “Are you alright!?!”</p><p>“That, my students, was the Hikari Family’s secret laughing pressure point technique,” explained Professor Hikari. “See, everybody has different pressure points that do different things, and if you’re to survive the creatures of the Grimm you may want to learn your way around them. There are many different ways of fighting, and in this class we shall cover some of them. After all, there may come a time when you find yourself deprived of your weapons. Can’t be too careful, after all!”</p><p>Next, she reached up towards the ceiling and pulled down a massive chart of the body. Several notations had been made, about what point affected what.  “Get out your notes, write this down. This could mean the difference between life and death in the field.”</p><p>“She’s… she’s good,” Jaune said recomposing himself, taking several deep breaths. Grabbing his notebook, he began jotting down everything he could. “Wonder if she’d be able to teach us that technique. I’d love to use it on Mercury…”</p><p>“Well, considering it’s her family secret, I doubt it,” Weiss said putting the fun train to a screeching halt. “It would be like me teaching you how to use my family glyphs.”</p><p>“Can you?” Jaune asked.</p><p>“No!” Weiss facepalmed. “Dolt…”</p><p>“It was just a question…” Jaune mumbled as he got back to work. Weiss, for her part, was pleased to note Ruby actually seemed to be paying attention for once. Hmm, maybe there was hope for her after all! If she kept this up, maybe she would be a good huntress after all. Now, to do something about that cookie addiction of hers…</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>Night fell, and with it came Jaune’s special training. </p><p>“You need to be quicker on your feet!” Weiss said, matching Jaune’s blade with her own, before surging forwards with the help of her glyphs. They’d managed to find a warehouse the Schnee Dust Company owned, and Weiss had paid the guards to take the night off. “The Grimm will not give you any mercy, and neither will I!”</p><p><span class="u"> <b>“Kamen Ride: Wizard! Hi-Hi, Hi-Hi-Hi!” </b> </span>Jaune’s belt sang out as he changed into the magic ring using Rider, before creating a shield of runes to stop Weiss in her tracks.</p><p>“Good, you’re reacting quicker,” Weiss instructed. “You didn’t take nearly as long to change into that form this time. Try to defend against these next attacks, and break my flow.”</p><p>Jaune nodded even as Weiss came at him with her sword, before he spun creating a wall of flame between them. Weiss slashed her sword forwards, ice dust embedded in it’s chambers before the fire was cleared away with a wall of hissing steam. Again, Myrtenaster switched out dust before Weiss sent a bolt of lightning at Jaune.</p><p><span class="u"> <b>“Kamen Ride: Wizard! Dododo Dododon, Don Dododon!” </b> </span> proclaimed the driver, before Jaune’s armor shifted from crimson to a bright yellow. A wall of earth and rock erupted between him and Weiss, with the lightning bolt smashing through the wall but otherwise doing nothing. <span class="u"> <b>“Kamen Ride: Wizard! Fu-Fu, Fu-Fu-Fu-Fu!”</b> </span></p><p>His armor changed to a bright emerald green, Jaune as Wizard using the wind magic to blow Weiss away. For a brief moment, she seemed to be taken out of the fight, but it was only brief. Weiss tossed Jaune a haughty smirk before she created a series of glyphs to slide along rushing back towards him. Her blade drawn back, she readied herself for another strike.</p><p>But Jaune was ready. <span class="u"> <b>“Kamen Ride: Build! Inazuma Technician! OctopusLight! Yeahhh!"</b> </span></p><p>This form was… unusual to say the least, a mix of yellow and pink with octopus tentacles on one hand and a lightbulb poking out of the other shoulder. Pyrrha, who had been watching from an upper level flushed an <em> interesting </em> shade of red seeing this form. Her mind raced with ideas.</p><p>“Uh, Pyrrha, you alright?” Ruby said, waving a hand in front of her face. “You’re not getting sick with something, are you? Oh Brothers, tell me you’re not coming down with something!”</p><p><em> “Oh my yes. Must. Have. Talk. With. Jaune.” </em>went Pyrrha’s mind. </p><p>Um… back to the battle? Anyways, um yes, right. Jaune as OctopusLight used his suits tendrils to grab Weiss, before tossing her towards some crates. Weiss leaped off another glyph and dived back towards him.</p><p>
  <span class="u"> <b>“Kamen Ride: Build! Teikoku no Hangyakusha! KaizokuRessya! Yeahhh!”</b> </span>
</p><p>Jaune drew back his bow, and fired before Weiss dodged the shot and leaped to another glyph managing to land a powerful kick to Jaune’s side.</p><p>“You left yourself open, taking too long to charge up that shot,” Weiss said, deflecting more energy arrows with Myrtemaster’s blade. “You’ve got potential, with the multitude of forms you have at your disposal before your reaction time… needs work.”</p><p>She proved this by landing several strikes to Jaune’s armor, and knocked him out of his transformation quite easily.</p><p>“Point proven,” said Weiss, helping her teammate up and handing him his driver. “Oh well, we’re getting there…” </p><p>“Thanks, Weiss, for all of this I mean,” Jaune said. “You didn’t have to do this.”</p><p>“Well, it’d be potentially embarrassing for me if my team leader got himself killed due to his own ineptitude and personal stupidity,” Weiss replied. “So think nothing of it.”</p><p>“Even when you’re being nice, you’re being rude…” Ruby said as she appeared in a flash of red rose petals, a noticeable thick and heavy textbook sticking out of a bag she’d slung over her shoulder. Weiss raised an eyebrow, and considered herself even more impressed. </p><p>“Just speaking my mind,” Weiss replied. “And speaking of speaking my mind, I’m impressed, Ruby. You actually seem to be taking your studies seriously for once.”</p><p>“Well, I can’t let you outdo me, so you can rub my face in it,” Ruby proclaimed. “You don’t need to worry about me Weiss, I can do this!”</p><p>“If you say so…” Weiss replied not entirely sounding all that convinced. </p><p>“Relax, I think she’s got this,” Pyrrha said kindly. “If I have to, I can tutor her. I generally get my work done on time anyways. I need a challenge, n-not that I’m implying you’re a challenge Ruby.”</p><p>Ruby yawned. “It’s late, you think there’s any places open at this time of night?” she asked. ‘I’m starting to get hungry, and I really don’t want to fall asleep on an empty stomach…”</p><p>“Well, no place classy!” Weiss started before Ruby put in with a:</p><p>“You mean no place worthy of a Schnee,” she teased. “Loosen up Weiss, you might have to rough it someday, and we don’t all have butlers to bring us food.”</p><p>“Yes, but all the same…” Weiss started with her grumblings going ignored, the group having found a late-night fast food joint. Pyrrha in particular was packing down the burgers, rivaling only Ruby and her fast metabolism.</p><p>Weiss looked white as a ghost seeing this horrific display of manners from her idol.</p><p>“I… I should really re-consider who I idolize,” she moaned with Jaune shooting Pyrrha a smile.</p><p>“Hey, this is probably one of the first real meals she’s actually had,” Jaune said kindly. “Pyrrha’s been on contract mandated diets her whole life!”</p><p>Weiss had the decency to look ashamed of herself as she considered this.</p><p>A sharp snap of a scroll’s camera, and Pyrrha’s eyes widened her mouth and hands covered in burger stuff. Jaune saw the paparazzi who’d snapped the photo and together, he and Weiss snatched it away.</p><p>“But that’s mine!” </p><p>“Not anymore it’s not,” Weiss said. “Or would you like to be sued by the Schnee Dust Company for wrongful harassment and stalking?”</p><p>The paparazzi <em> very </em> quickly backed off after hearing this, his face white. Then, the earth shook with Ruby letting out a: “What the heck was that?”</p><p>Screams sounded and Jaune’s eyes narrowed. “Trouble.”</p><p>Sure enough, as the foursome arrived on the scene with masks in hand, they saw both Roman Torchwick and Mercury tossing as many gold bars as they could in the back of a truck. A bank wall had been blown completely open, bricks laying scattered across the alleyway.</p><p>“Are… are those the White Fang?” Weiss whispered in a tone of low horror as she noted the men helping Roman. “What are they doing here?”</p><p>“Not sure, but we’ve got to stop them,” Jaune said, slapping on his driver and transforming into Decade.</p><p>“Jaune, wait!” Pyrrha called before with a sigh, she fished out her mask and put it on. </p><p>“Boys, they never listen,” Weiss said, using a glyph to propel herself skywards. </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXM2-chWAfM"> “Roman!” </a> Jaune shouted, his voice now distorted beyond recognition. “Drop the gold.”</p><p>“Oh, I was wondering when you’d show up,” Roman said, his cane flipping open before he fired several shots at Decade who sliced them out of the air with his blade. “Was starting to miss you.”</p><p>Mercury launched a powerful kick at Decade, who blocked it with his blade before an explosive shot from Roman’s rifle knocked him to his feet.</p><p>“Yoink!” said Ruby pulling the rifle out of Roman’s hands.</p><p>“Red!” Roman greeted, and Ruby facepalmed. Of course, her voice and her outfit and her… oh frak. She really hadn’t thought this through. “Shouldn’t be you in school? Don’t worry, I won’t tell.”</p><p>The White Fang charged forwards, rifles at the ready.</p><p>“Meet my new boys,” Roman said cheerfully. “They’re a bit more expensive than my old boys, but so much more intelligent.”</p><p>“They’re also terrorist scum,” Ruby said, changing Crescent Rose into rifle mode. “And I thought you had standards, Roman!”</p><p>“Believe me Red,” Roman said, kneeing her in the gut, and reclaiming his weapon. “I’m not too happy about this either, but times have changed. Get with the program, Red, there’s a storm brewing and if you don’t hunker down… well, you’ll just end up being swept away!”</p><p>He fired, but the shot went wild as Pyrrha shot the bullet out of the air with a shot of her own from Miló in hunting rifle mode.</p><p>“Oh, two reds! Hey, don’t you look familiar? I swear I’ve seen you somewhere before…” Roman thought as Pyrrha blocked a kick from Mercury with Akoúo̱. “Oh, well. It’ll come to me. In the meantime, mind if I reel you in?”</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>"Kamen Ride: Build! Tsunagaru Ippiki Ookami! SmaphoWolf! Yeahhh!"</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>Then, the handle of Roman’s cane was fired, and it wrapped itself around Pyrrha, pulling her close. Nearby, Jaune in SmaphoWolf Form was cutting through the forces of the White Fang, using his arm shield to block shots. He then changed to HawkGatling with another card, and cut down the terrorists with his gun. Massive orange wings erupted from his suit, blowing them away.</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>"Kamen Ride: Build! Tenkuu no Abarenbou! HawkGatling! Yeahhh!"</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>Weiss came to Pyrrha’s rescue, slashing through Roman’s tether cable. She kicked him in the stomach, knocking him into his truck. Then, came the sounds of police sirens.</p><p>“Come on, let’s beat it!” Roman shouted. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have to explain myself to the boys in blue! Another time, Red!”</p><p>He and his men were quickly out of there. </p><p>“Well, that was…” Weiss started.</p><p>“Exciting?” Pyrrha suggested.</p><p>“Not the word I’d use…” Weiss began before the air shimmered and from out of nowhere came what seemed to be an all-black version of Build, complete with grey eyes. He hit like a truck, flooring Weiss with one punch.</p><p>“Oh no you don’t!” Jaune said, back in SmaphoWolf and using his arm shield to block another powerful punch. The screen cracked, and this ‘Metal Build’ almost shattered it with a powerful kick. </p><p>Jaune quickly changed into Wizard and a wall of water erupted between him and the evil Rider. Then, the air shimmered and he was gone.</p><p>“Okay, what the hell…?” Jaune asked before another Rider stepped out of the gloom.</p><p>“Don’t be alarmed,” said the Rider. “I just wanted to see for myself if the rumors are true, that there is a new Decade.”</p><p>“Well, rumor confirmed,” Jaune said, helping Weiss up as he was joined by his teammates. “Now, what do you want?”</p><p>“Nothing more for tonight,” said the white Rider. “I’ll be seeing you.”</p><p>And with a little wave, she was gone. Jaune slumped against the brick wall. That… yeah, that was something.</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>Back at the dorms, Jaune slumped into his bed. They’d managed to make it out of there before the police arrived.</p><p>“Seems you’re not the only Rider in town,” Ruby said, wincing in pain. “Lovely!”</p><p>“Forget that,” Jaune said. “We’ve got to tell Headmaster Ozpin that Roman’s working with the White Fang!”</p><p>“And <em> how </em>are we supposed to know that, hmm?” Weiss pointed out. “We were never there, Decade and a pack of unknown vigilantes were. If we tell Ozpin what we know, goodbye anonymity!”</p><p>“Shit…” Jaune muttered and Ruby didn’t even bother to chide him for this as she was basically thinking along the same lines.</p><p>“We should really get some sleep,” Weiss said, fighting back a yawn. “Give Roman time, he’ll slip up and then we can capture him. Don’t worry, this won’t be the last we’ll see of him.</p><p>Or that white Rider, she added to herself. As everyone else got to sleep, Weiss would later wake in the middle of the night only to find -to her surprise- Ruby still hard at work at her desk, pouring through a thick, heavy textbook. Another lay off to the side. Half asleep, she looked barely able to keep her eyes open. Weiss smiled, and whispered: “Dolt…” before carrying her to bed. </p><p>Her team were dolts, the lot of them. But corny as it sounded, she wasn’t exactly sure if she’d have them any other way. Soon, sleep was to claim her as well...</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Legacy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, you may notice I have finally changed the chapter number. Bumped it up a little. Yeah, figured I probably should eventually.</p><p>Also, huge thanks to Shadowmane for his contributions throughout the chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Early that next morning at Beacon, the skies were a stagnant and bleak shade of grey, yet there had been no forecast of rain at all. They just hung in the sky, obscuring the sunlight from all. That being said, life still went on all the same at Beacon Academy. Not a single class was delayed; not a single activity stopped or up in the air. At least, life went on for most of the students. For Team JWRP, however, it was a different story.</p><p>“Auuuuugghhhh!” Ruby screamed in frustration, planting her head into her textbook. “Brothers, this is so annoying! I just want to tell Headmaster Ozpin’s working with the White Fang and I can’t and oh I think I’m going to explode out of sheer frustration!”</p><p>“Tell me about it…” Pyrrha threw her voice into the conversation as well. “We know that Roman’s one of the White Fang, but if we tell anyone about him, we’re as good as dead. But we can’t let him get away with whatever he’s planning with those… those animals!”</p><p>“Don’t you think that’s a little bit discriminatory coming from you, Pyrrha?” Jaune asked disapprovingly, sounding somewhat disappointed in his friend. </p><p>“Well, I mean, she’s not wrong…” Weiss mumbled.</p><p>“Weiss…” Jaune said.</p><p>“Okay, look, I know not all Faunus are bad, but the White Fang?” Pyrrha asked. “They’re terrorists! Sad thing is, they used to be peaceful protestors, I actually remember my moms letting them rally outside their house. But… but I don’t understand what’s changed.”</p><p>“I don’t think any of us do.” Jaune said, idly staring forward at the blackboard in front of him, despite not paying a word of attention to Mr. Caffeine’s lightning-fast lectures. “The White Fang used to be good, but clearly, someone in that little group decided to push them too far. And now that they’re in cahoots with that Roman jerk, it’s almost like…”</p><p>“Something bigger’s going on?” Weiss theorized. “Yeah, it does seem that way, doesn’t it? But the question is, what? I don’t like not knowing things, it’s… worrying.”</p><p>“Should we really even be getting involved? We’re still only students after all,” Pyrrha said attempting to be the voice of reason. “Yes, students with an extra edge but we’re only students.”</p><p>“Feels wrong, though,” Ruby muttered to herself. “Knowing Roman and the White Fang are up to <em> something </em> and yet we can’t do a thing about it. Actually, more to the point, the White Fang <em> hate </em>humans so why…? Is Roman secretly a faunus and we just don’t know it?”</p><p>“If he is, then it would make more sense why he’s running with the White Fang. Probably just as mad as the rest of them,” Weiss replied. “In any case, there’s other things we need to address. Just who was that girl? The one who attacked us?”</p><p>“Wait, the white rider was a girl?” Ruby asked, eyes widening in surprise. “I never noticed!”</p><p>Weiss groaned.</p><p>“Rely on me to be the only observant one around here… Yes Ruby, she was a girl. Did you not see her figure, I’m kinda jealous actually…” the heiress admitted.</p><p>“More to the point,” Pyrrha joined in. “Who was she and where did she come from?”</p><p>“And how did she summon that other Rider? He actually looked kinda like Build, just… well, all black. Owwwww, think I still got the bruises from last night actually… What’s her game? Her stake in all of this?” Jaune wondered. “There’s way too many questions.”</p><p>“Any way we can narrow it down, get some answers?” Ruby asked. “Like, surely there’s <em> someone </em>we can ask!”</p><p><em> “I think there might be, actually…” </em> Jaune mused to himself as he watched Blake, who had been trying to be inconspicuous while listening in on their whole conversation. Her only tell was the way her bow moved, almost like a flick of the ears. <em> “I think there just might be!” </em></p><p>“You think that Rider will show up again?” Ruby asked.</p><p>“You don’t think she won’t?” Weiss replied. “No, we haven’t seen the last of her. I just wish we knew <em> why </em>she appeared last night.”</p><p>“Yeah, you and me both. Nobody sicks an attack dog on my best friend!” Ruby grumbled.</p><p>Jaune’s heart drooped a little at this, so that’s all she saw him as? Just her best friend? Oh. Hopefully, <em> hopefully </em>he could get her to change her mind about him. </p><p>Ruby, oblivious to her best friend’s heartache, argued the point with Pyrrha as shown below.<br/><br/>“...I thought he looked like an attack bunny to be honest…” the Invincible Girl of Mistral pondered, a hand resting on her chin. </p><p>“A bunny?” Ruby said skeptically. “Since when are bunnies ever threatening?”</p><p>“Well, I mean, there was that one movie…” Pyrrha trailed off. “Rabbit slaughtered a whole bunch of knights? Did you not see that film?”</p><p>“Huh. Pretty sure I would’ve seen it. Then, this would’ve been a totally different conversation,” Ruby replied quickly. “But that’s a movie, this is real life. I’m not sure you can make a <em> bunny </em>look scary…”</p><p>“I dunno, I was pretty convinced…” Pyrrha said. “Plus, you saw Velvet on the court right? Like <em> wow </em>. Girl’s been hiding some abs from the rest of us, like I’m amazed she hides them so well.”</p><p>“Why are you so amazed? I mean, you’ve got some serious muscle going on P-Money,” Ruby said. “Like, you’ve got arms like <em> tree trunks. </em>If anyone should be jealous around here, it should be me. I’m still thin as a rake!”</p><p>Pyrrha chuckled bitterly. “Haven’t you heard, nobody ever wants an Amazon. Like, I intimidate people. Who wants to date a girl that would break them in two?”</p><p>“Well, I mean, I know a few people have a muscle fetish…” Ruby murmured, and Pyrrha glanced at her in shock. It sounded so <em> wrong, </em> hearing the word ‘fetish’ come out of the largely innocent teenager’s mouth. Or, at least Pyrrha had <em> thought </em>she was innocent. Apparently, that wasn’t quite the case. Ruby noticed her expression. </p><p>“Oh, don’t look so surprised, I’m a teenage girl. I’m nearly sixteen! Trust me, I know a few things about ‘sex’. Never understood what all the fuss is myself, but trust me when you spend enough time around the boys back at Signal -not to mention Yang- you do pick up a few things!”</p><p>“W-Wow,” Pyrrha blinked. “The more you know…”</p><p>“But take it from me Pyrrha, that whole ‘no boy wants to date an amazon’ thing? Complete nonsense!” Ruby said with a dismissive little wave. “I mean, have you <em> seen </em> the boys asking Yang out on dates? It’s not because of her boobs, okay maybe it’s not <em> completely </em> just because of her boobs. ...annnnnnnd now I’m just feeling jealous of her again…”</p><p>Pyrrha patted her sympathetically with a little laugh.. “Trust me, it’s nothing to be jealous about! Take it from me, large breasts <em> sag </em>.”</p><p>Jaune had been listening in to this with a substantial blush all over his face, of course.</p><p>“Basically,” Pyrrha went on. “You’re not missing much.”</p><p>Then, the bell rang. As class let out for the time being, Jaune knew he had to find Blake. </p><p>“Blake?” Jaune called out over the din, trying desperately to spot the disguised faunus’s distinctive black locks in the crowd of students. How did you lose a girl like that? How? “Blake, I-I need to talk to you about something!”</p><p>“What’s with the sudden urge to talk to Blake?” Ruby said before gaining a teasing smile. “You’re not suddenly feeling the urge to cheat on me, are you Vomit Boy?”</p><p><em> “What’s to cheat on?” </em> Jaune thought to himself sadly. <em> “Not like you see me as anything more than a best friend…”  </em></p><p>“I wasn’t aware that we were even <em> in </em>a relationship,” Jaune said perhaps more sarcastically than he meant to.</p><p>“Oh, you’re just saying that,” Ruby playfully slapped him on the back. “But seriously, what’s up with Blake?”</p><p>“I’ve got questions and she might be the only one to answer them,” Jaune replied.</p><p>“W-Wait, is this something related to Professor Oobleck’s lesson? Because none of us were really paying attention and I-I got questions as well. Drat, I really should have been taking notes…” Ruby mumbled to herself in annoyance and embarrassment. </p><p>“Something like that, yeah!” Jaune agreed. </p><p>“Well, if that’s the case, I might as well come along. What’s a Vomit Boy without his Barrelover?” Ruby said, linking her arm with his. Jaune blushed at the seeming intimacy of the gesture. Ruby noticed, and smirked before saying: “What, never went for a walk with a pretty girl on the arm?”</p><p>“Well… I…” Jaune stuttered out.</p><p>“I’m going to take that as a no,” Ruby said.</p><p>“Well, who wants to go for a walk with the scraggly limp noodle…” Jaune muttered to himself, and Ruby smacked him over the head.</p><p>“Now, none of that! Besides, those girls? They’re really missing out!” Ruby chirped. “The noodles are the best!”</p><p>Jaune laughed. “Thanks, Ruby, you have a way of making me feel better about myself.”</p><p>“What I’m here for!” Ruby smiled, before both let out yelps as they were pulled into an abandoned classroom.</p><p>“Alright, what the…?” Jaune muttered.</p><p>“Blake, that you?” Ruby asked as she spotted her fellow classmate. “Look, if you brought us in here to make out, I have to inform you that I don’t swing…”</p><p>“It’s not for that!” Blake growled out. “I heard you two were looking for me. And no, before you ask, I’m not going to tell you what you missed. You four goofed off, and so it’s really your own fault. So unless you’ve got something else to ask me, please leave.”</p><p><em> “Oh, what’s the best way to approach this? Oh, fuck it,” </em>Jaune decided before he crossed over that dangerous wide threshold. “What do you know about the White Fang’s operations?”</p><p>Blake noticeably flinched. “N-Not much, just about as anybody else I suppose… They’re terrorists, plain and simple!”</p><p>“Jaune, what are you doing…?” Ruby asked cautiously. “Why would…?”</p><p>Then she realized, suddenly a lot about Blake seemed to make sense. The nervousness, the way she warned them about the White Fang on the airship to Beacon, how she knew to fight and even that bow she wore!</p><p>“Blake, are you…?” Ruby asked nervously.</p><p>Blake nodded sadly, taking off her bow to reveal two <em> adorable </em>little cat ears. Ruby let out a sharp gasp.</p><p>“Please, don’t tell anyone, I came here to Beacon to escape my past. I… I wanted them to see me as just Blake, not the faunus terrorist,” the kunoichi said. “Please, just pretend you never saw any of this.”</p><p>Ruby planted a hand on her shoulder. “My sister trusts you, and she’s generally right about people. So therefore I trust you. We won’t tell a soul, not even the rest of our team.”</p><p>“T-Thank you…” Blake said, sounding near tears. She dabbed at her eyes, regaining her composure. “Now, what is it you wanted to know?”</p><p>“Just, anything you can offer. For example, why would Roman Torchwick be working with the White Fang? Is he a Faunus himself?” Jaune questioned pulling up a chair. </p><p>“I… I don’t know who this Roman guy is, but if he’s as bad as you say he is, then…” Blake curled herself up even more. “It’s possible that he could’ve been found by Adam.”</p><p>“Adam?” Ruby asked curiously. “Who’s Adam?”<br/><br/>“Adam Taurus, a powerful figurehead in the White Fang. Red hair, he wears this mask over his face. And most importantly, he’s got this katana that can slice through anything with ease,” Blake explained. “I’ve met him a few times. And he’s definitely not a nice person. In fact, I’d argue he’s the worst of the worst when it comes to the White Fang.”</p><p>Somehow, both Jaune and Ruby got the feeling Blake knew more than she was telling. They shared a look, deciding not to press.</p><p>“But what would the White Fang want with a mob boss?” Ruby wondered.</p><p>“Not sure, money maybe? They’re not the most subtle crowd. A mob boss would be able to go places they couldn’t, gain connections they otherwise wouldn’t. Where’d you hear about this anyways?” Blake asked. “I’m curious.”</p><p>Both Ruby and Jaune shared a freaked look, crap! They hadn’t thought up a story to explain <em> how </em>they knew this.</p><p>“We… we have our sources…” Jaune stammered out. Blake didn’t look as if she believed him, and for a few anxious tension-filled moments they waited for her to call them out on their bullshit. But she never did.</p><p>As Jaune breathed a sigh of relief, Blake questioned. “But Roman, you’re speaking as if he’s… human? Okay, yeah that is odd. Adam would never be caught <em> dead </em>with a human, especially after what I’ve been hearing…”</p><p>“What have you been hearing?” Ruby asked. </p><p>“W-Well, I’ve got my sources just the same as you, but apparently a few days before the school year started, there was an… incident. Remember the White Fang attack on the news, the one we heard about coming here?”</p><p>“Vaguely, yeah…” Jaune mused.</p><p>“Someone… disrupted it. Good samaritan really. Looked like a faunus, but from what I’ve been hearing nobody really thinks that. He just dressed up as one to mock them. In any event, he challenged Adam to a duel, and took his weapons,  Wilt and Blush. I also heard he had help.”</p><p>“Well, maybe we should find this guy and thank him! Sounds like he completely humiliated Adam!” Ruby exclaimed.</p><p>“Y-Yeah,” Blake stuttered. “But good luck on that, the warrior hasn’t been seen since. Odd though, the thing is he somehow managed to summon other warriors to him. Least that’s what I heard. They didn’t look like any soldier in Remnant…” </p><p>Jaune flashbacked. The caverns, and the mysterious appearance and disappearance of that bat-like warrior! Could it be…?</p><p>“I’ve never even heard of a Semblance like that!” Blake went on. “Brothers, this is like a mystery novel!”</p><p>Ruby and Jaune shared a significant look, could the man who challenged Adam be connected to the White Rider? For that matter, could he <em> be </em>the White Rider?</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>“...okay, so where’d those two dolts get off to?” Weiss had to wonder, having just noticed the disappearance of her two teammates. “I swear, if they went off and vanished just to go kiss in a broom closet…”</p><p>Pyrrha let out a little squeak of fear at this possibility. And she hadn’t even gotten a chance to talk to Jaune about OctopusLight’s tentacles yet!</p><p>“Please don’t call them dolts…” Pyrrha requested kindly.</p><p>“I’ll call them dolts if I want to, they’re hugely unfocused in their schoolwork and they act like children! We came here to learn, not to goof off or… or be vigilantes in the night!”</p><p>Here, she lowered her voice.</p><p>“If I’d been found out by the White Fang…” Weiss shuddered. Pyrrha nodded in sympathy.</p><p>“Truth be told, I don’t exactly approve of our late night activities either…” she admitted.</p><p>“See, a fellow woman of sense!” Weiss said in a tone of utter exasperation. “We’re not supposed to be getting involved in stuff like this, we’re not even fully trained! Good as I am, even I know fighting a mob boss is suicide. Let alone you know who!”</p><p>“I… I just don’t want to see Jaune hurt, that’s all…” Pyrrha stammered out. </p><p>“How do you think we ALL feel?!” Weiss raised her voice unintentionally, making Pyrrha lurch backwards and curl up defensively. It was only after Weiss saw this that she immediately calmed down. She let a sigh escape her lips. “Look, Pyrrha, we all have to look out for each other. We’re Team JWRP. It would be uncouth to let one of our own fall into trouble like that.”<br/><br/>“Uncouth, really?” Pyrrha asked with a giggle, raising an eyebrow. “So high-class…”</p><p>“Well, I <em> am </em>an heiress.”</p><p>“Sorry, just trying to be funny,” Pyrrha said. </p><p>“You need to work on your jokes,” Weiss grumbled before she realized something. Maybe this was Pyrrha’s true self, all bad jokes and mother henning for her teammates. Suddenly, Weiss felt very ashamed of herself. “...you… you really didn’t have much of a chance to be yourself, I’m guessing did you? I saw you at the diner last night, you scarfing down those hamburgers. I’m amazed with your contract mandated diets you’re not thin as a rake. That you’ve got the muscles you do. I was cruel about it, I’m sorry.”</p><p>“I accept your apology, and… thank you. You, Jaune and Ruby? You’re the first people to actually <em> want </em>to get to know the real me, not the Invincible Girl thing I have to put up for the public. I… I hate it, actually, and I can’t even say I do otherwise my sponsors will pull out,” Pyrrha explained, Weiss looking appropriately horrified. “The sponsors? They’re good for my family, you know? I don’t think they’d be living it up as much as they are without them. I… I lied before actually. Mom 1 couldn’t pay off her debt, so…”</p><p>“So you became a star for her…” Weiss realized. “I’m… sorry to hear that. Well, I’ll be happy to get to know the real you. You look like you need a friend.”</p><p>Here, she hugged Pyrrha.</p><p>“Don’t let anyone ever know I did that, I have appearances of my own to keep up,” Weiss said. “Now, tell me about yourself. Who’s the girl you <em> really </em>want to be?”</p><p>“I want…” Pyrrha started before her breath caught in her throat. Weiss urged her on.</p><p>“Go on, it’s not so scary…” Weiss said kindly.</p><p>“I want to be the girl who’s actually allowed to go shopping for whatever she wants, not what my publicists say I should wear. I want to eat what I want, not what I’m told what I’m supposed to eat. I want to have nerdy hobbies, not be told that they’re ‘uncool’ for a girl of my status. I… I just want to be normal…” Pyrrha whispered sounding as if she was near tears.</p><p>As they walked out into the courtyard, clouds giving way to sunny skies, Weiss sighed to herself.</p><p>“Yeah, I know what you mean,” she admitted. “You know my father right?”</p><p>“Sebastian, right? The man who owns the Schnee Dust Company?” Pyrrha asked. “I think I saw his name in the news a few times.”</p><p>“Jacques,” Weiss corrected. “But yes, him.”</p><p>“What does this have to do about him? I thought that, since you were the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, that you’d have nothing but praise for your dad,” Pyrrha questioned, noticing that Weiss’s face had fallen a little. “What is it, Weiss?”</p><p>“My father is… well, I’m sure you’ve heard some of the rumors right?” Weiss asked. “About the company?”</p><p>“I’ve heard how there are some people who… aren’t exactly pleased with the Schnee Dust Company,” Pyrrha folded her arms as she leaned forward. “Are the rumours true then, Weiss?”</p><p>“All of them. Unethical business practices, insider trading… I’ve pretended not to notice, or pretended that people were just making up that sort of thing. Maybe a bit of both,” Weiss said. “My father, he’s a monster. He started off so sweet, as they all do, but after Winter was born? He dropped the act entirely, he became controlling, his gaze as frosty as the Atlas chill. He told my mom he married her for her money, nothing more. Nothing less. After that, she basically… just shut down I suppose. Took to the bottle."</p><p>“That’s… harsh. No, it’s horrible even. The way that you presented it, it makes Jacques seem like some kind of archvillain in a TV show. Y’know, the ones that really are hated by everyone,” Pyrrha looked at Weiss all over. Even now, she could tell that those fancy clothes she wore were just another thread in the wretched tapestry stitched together by her father. Huh, she never knew she could be so poetic. Maybe she should take up poetry?</p><p>Weiss snorted bitterly. “Yeah, that’s one way to put it I suppose. Except, the thing is, he’s very <em> very </em>real. He’s making my brother, Whitley into a miniature version of himself. And that’s…”</p><p>“...why you wanted to come out here, to escape?” Pyrrha guessed.  “You want to know what I think?”</p><p>“What?” Weiss asked.</p><p>“Men who crave power will take all the failures of their lives, stack them on top of one another and call it 'destiny'. Your father is a failure at life, and so he’s trying to compensate by… well, by being an absolute bastard really. Made it his job. That’s what I think,” Pyrrha said with Weiss nodding. “But that’s why you came out here right, to Beacon? To escape?”</p><p>“Maybe, or at least give the Schnee name something to be proud of again. I have a legacy of honor to uphold. Once I realized I was capable of fighting, there was no longer a question of what I would do with my life. It was my duty. My father was not the start of our name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it.” Weiss re-affirmed. </p><p>“Well, glad to see you’ve finally found your resolve, Ice Princess,” Qrow’s voice said, and both warrior women looked to see the man leaning up against a wall. He cracked a wily, yet approving grin. “Classes start in ten, now see if you can dig up the rest of your team eh? I know my niece hates to be tardy!”</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>“So, your weapon. I suppose I don’t need to say this, but your weapon is your life,” Qrow said, with Harbinger hoisted over his shoulder. He slammed it into the earth, cracking the ground. “Lose it, and you lose your life.”</p><p>Ruby could only watch and listen to her Uncle Qrow as he told the other students the nitty-gritty details of combat. She should have been happy to be learning under her own uncle, and to some degree, she was. But even now, she couldn’t get the thoughts of Roman, the White Fang, and the White Rider out of her mind.</p><p>“Now. What you need to know about the Grimm. They’re big, they’re nasty, and they feed on your negativity. You get angry? Grimm’ll come running. Get sad? That’s gonna be more Grimm for you. Scream? What do you think?” Qrow bluntly laid down everything for his Huntsman and Huntress recruits. </p><p>“Grimm <em> do </em> have a weakness, though. Their faces. Or rather, those chunks that stick out of their bodies. You deal with them…” He said, as a Grimm was released from one of its’ pens and charged towards him. Qrow just effortlessly lifted Harbinger up and sliced the Grimm’s mask clean in half, causing the beast to disappear into ashes. “And the job’s done.”</p><p>Applause greeted this, the crowd of students clapping at how effortlessly he dispatched the beast.</p><p>“Mhmm, maybe he’s not so bad after all,” Weiss admitted. “I could actually learn something!”</p><p>“See, that’s the spirit Weiss Queen!” Yang exclaimed., giving her a gentle punch to the arm.</p><p>“Please don’t touch me,” Weiss said. “And please don’t call me Weiss Queen.”</p><p>“Now. I wanna see how each of you handles a Grimm,” Qrow eyed up each of his ‘students’ until his gaze locked on Weiss. “You. Weiss. You’re up first. Time to see what the Schnee Heiress can really do!” He beckoned her with his hand.</p><p>Weiss stepped forwards, graceful as ever, with her rapier in hand. Myrtenaster was ready, and so was she.</p><p>“Doesn’t matter what weapon you use or how you get at the Grimm. Just as long as you get rid of that mask,” Qrow told her. “Shouldn’t be a problem for you, right? After all, if you’ve learned anything from your sister...” </p><p>Qrow clicked his fingers and another caged Grimm was let loose on Weiss. The beast snarled as its claws ripped up the grass beneath it as it barrelled towards her. Weiss readied herself, the chamber of her weapon slamming as she chose her crystal. Lunging forwards, like a bullet from a gun, her sword crackling and sparking with lightning… she struck.</p><p>The rapier found its’ mark, and lightning burst from the tip of the blade. And though the Grimm was paralysed by the strike, it was still very much amble, and undeterred by Weiss’s attack. If anything, it made the monster even angrier. One of its paws raised high into the air, claws ready to slice Weiss’s face wide open.</p><p>The heiress spun on her heels, and another dust crystal loaded itself into her hand. “I may fall, but not by your hand…” she said to herself, before striking.</p><p>The Ursa was swept away in a blast of wind before Weiss used her glyphs to jump above it and she slashed through its muscled form. Ashes scattered onto the wind, as Weiss landed before curtsying to the applause of the crowd.</p><p>“Elegant. Just like the Schnees are,” Qrow commented. “Head back in line. Let’s see someone else handle one of these things.” He waved his fingers in a dismissing motion.</p><p>Ruby grinned as she pulled out Crescent Rose, spinning it behind her and the blade implanting itself in the ground. “Well, if I must… Let’s dance!”</p><p>“Now, Ruby. Something else you should know about the Grimm? They’re also rather unpredictable!” </p><p>Literally the moment that Qrow had stopped talking, another Grimm was already breathing down Ruby’s neck. Ruby spun, in a flurry of red petals and that was the last thing the Grimm ever saw as it was sliced open. She spun again, kicking the other Grimm that was rushing upon her in the face with her boot. It staggered, just in time for Ruby to change her weapon into gun form and riddle it with bullets. </p><p>Some more applause came from Ruby’s demonstration, along with some whistles of approvement. Ruby smiled, blowing dust off her gun like an old west gunfighter.<br/><br/>“Now that is technique, kids. Using both of your weapon’s forms AND Dust to your advantage,” Qrow said, not at all favouring Ruby even though she was his niece. “The more ways you have to cleave a Grimm, the better. And when you put it all together? Bad guys are gonna run away from you, rather than towards you. But we’re not here just to see your fellow classmates wail away on Grimm. Oh no, as Grimm aren’t the only dangers out there in the world. Take rogue bandits, for instance. Some’ll be out to steal your life; not just your Lien. I’ll be the stand-in, and your job is to defeat me.”</p><p>“D-Defeat you?” Jaune questioned.</p><p>“Yes, did I stutter?” Qrow asked, raising his eyebrow. “Kick. My. Ass. First one to do so gets extra credit. So glad you decided to volunteer to be the first on the chopping block, actually!”</p><p>Truth be told, Qrow had a secondary agenda. There was something about Jaune, and this was a chance for him to attempt to figure out what it was…</p><p>“Language, Uncle Qrow!” Ruby shouted as a reflex. “That’s more Lien for the jar!”</p><p>“Okay, if you say so…” Qrow just rolled his eyes and shrugged, as his grip on Harbinger tightened and he gestured for Jaune to come forth. “When you’re ready…”</p><p>“I’m… I’m not so sure about this…” Jaune admitted before Harbinger came at him fast and furious smashing through his aura.</p><p>“No hesitation!” Qrow barked. “Bandits won’t give you time to be unsure about yourself, so neither will I!”</p><p>“Oh boy…” Weiss muttered. “This could end badly.”</p><p>“I can’t watch…” Pyrrha agreed. “What is he thinking? Jaune’s good, but he’s not <em> that </em>good!”</p><p>“Relax, Uncle Qrow won’t kill him. ...I think.” Ruby muttered nervously. She just had to hope that Qrow wasn’t secretly drunk underneath his attitude.</p><p>Harbinger’s blade swung wildly at Jaune as he either met the blade with his own sword, or tried to duck and dive out of the way. But no matter how fast he was, Qrow was faster. Already, it seemed like Jaune was losing steam. He could have easily fought back in his Rider form, but transforming in front of the whole school? Not a chance. Plus, he had to consider that this would have been good training for when he had to fight without transforming. If only his enemy wasn’t a ruthless teacher with a giant sword.</p><p>“What’s the matter, kid? Don’t you want all that extra credit? Imagine how much faster you’d become a Huntsman if you could beat me,” Qrow taunted, as he used the same technique Ruby did and became a fluster of feathers, warping behind Jaune. “Think fast!” </p><p>And he struck Jaune square on the back with his boot alone, before dashing over to his ragdoll body with Harbinger again.</p><p>“How did he…?” Jaune wondered. “What kind of Semblance was that?”</p><p>“In battle, you need to be ready for all contingencies; all enemies. Doesn’t matter whether they’re Grimm or human, a REAL Huntsman or Huntress is ready for anything and everything!” Qrow remarked as his sword came crashing down against Jaune’s shield, causing small cracks to form around the sides. Another set of strong blows like that and Jaune would have nothing to defend himself with.</p><p>Thinking fast, Jaune rolled to the left before his shield could be shattered. He had to duck one more time as a vertical slash from Harbinger came his way. He watched as Qrow suddenly stopped, his sword hanging inches away from the floor. Why? What was he doing?</p><p>“Think about it, kid. You’re standing in front of a guy with a huge sword, lots of speed and power, and has the power to get behind you,” Qrow remarked. “What do you do about it? How do you learn to adapt and overcome?”</p><p>“Well…” Jaune said kicking Qrow in the shin before the sword strikes came fast and furious from Crocea Mors. Sparks flew as blade met blade, before Qrow’s weapon shifted to a whip-like form, and Jaune barely holding his own as the blade lashed at him. The tip of the sword sliced through his shirt cleanly as it could. Seeing his clothes slashed like that made him start to worry. Just how powerful was this guy?</p><p>Thankfully, the attacks ended then and there.</p><p>“Not bad kid, you lasted longer than I thought you would. In a real fight, you’d be dead,” Qrow appraised. “The key thing is, to keep an eye on your Aura and make a tactical retreat if necessary. There’s no shame in it. Better to be alive and living to fight another day than dead by your own stubborn pride and stupidity.”</p><p>“I don’t have any…” Jaune started.</p><p>“Sure you don’t kid, I was like you once. Thinking I was invincible. But times will come when you’ll find out you’re not. Be glad it was me who taught you this lesson, and not someone else.”</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>“You’re an idiot, you know that right?” Weiss lectured as Jaune lay on his bed, shirt tossed to the side with the heiress bandaging the blond. “You just <em> had </em>to go and show off, didn’t you? Try and take Qrow.”</p><p>“Well, I got volunteered so…” Jaune tried to argue.</p><p>“No, you volunteered yourself,” Weiss lectured before her voice softened. “Look, I get it. You’re the team leader, you got to prove yourself. Be the big man on campus, but… you can’t take risks like that! I don’t want to see you end up in the infirmary, or worse…”</p><p>“Oh, so you do care,” Jaune teased. Weiss gave him a look that could melt steel.</p><p>“You don’t get to joke, not after what you pulled!” Weiss hissed out, doing the bandages extra tight making Jaune wince. “You’re lucky that was just our professor and not a <em> real </em>bandit!”</p><p>“Nngh… Okay, okay, I think I get it.” Jaune hissed with pain as the bandages tightened. He could still feel the agonising shocks of the battle now. “Don’t try and push my luck.”</p><p>“Oh, don’t be so mean, Weiss. Uncle Qrow’s not a bad man. He’s just…” Ruby was trying to find a single compliment about her uncle. She knew more than anyone how… rough around the edges he could be.</p><p>“Expecting a lot out of us?” Jaune retorted instantly.</p><p>“Jaune…” Pyrrha said sternly. “Of course he expects a lot out of you, he knows you can do better. He all knows we can do better!”</p><p>“Your whole family is crazy, you know that right?” Weiss said to Ruby. “You’re… well, you, Yang’s got a temper that’ll get her whole team killed and Qrow’s a madman!”</p><p>“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ruby’s brows arched downwards and her hands tightened up. Weiss had the gall to take her family’s name in vain. “Tell me, Weiss Schnee of the Schnee Dust Company! What is that supposed to mean?!”</p><p><em>“Oh boy, here we go…”</em> Jaune said to himself.</p><p>“Well, I…” Weiss stammered before regaining her composure, her gaze hardening. “Look, I respect Headmaster Ozpin, I do, but right now I severely question his judgement. Qrow’s a recovering drunk, he could fall off the wagon at any time. And at any rate, he makes stupid reckless decisions. Setting two Grimm at once on you! Without warning! And then there’s your sister. Her semblance is basically a temper tantrum on steroids. If she doesn’t learn to reign it in and use it properly, it’d be all too easy to take her out. And then there’s you.”</p><p>“And what about me?” Ruby asked.</p><p>“You’re as reckless as your uncle. You rely on your speed to get you in and out of trouble, often without a plan at that! We need to work on that. One of these days you’ll encounter an enemy who knows how to match your semblance. Hell, you already have when Dove turned into that ‘Another Kabuto’ creature. Or maybe someone will figure out how to deprive you of your speed. Ever think of that?” Weiss questioned.</p><p>“Well, I…” Ruby started before sighing. </p><p>“I thought not.” Weiss nodded. </p><p>And now, more and more, Jaune was starting to feel as if he wasn’t the right fit for this team. Weiss had clearly taken charge of everything, and more importantly, sounded like she knew what she was doing. </p><p><em> “Are you that surprised?” </em> Tsukasa asked, finally reappearing again. <em> “You didn’t even get into Beacon properly, you don’t even have real transcripts! How can you be expected to lead then?” </em></p><p>“Shut up…” Jaune whispered.</p><p>“Jaune, you alright?” Pyrrha asked softly. “Is… he appearing again? The ghost?”</p><p>“Ghost?” Ruby asked in confusion, furrowing her eyebrows. “What ghost? Is this dorm haunted? Ack! Are we haunted?”</p><p><em> “They need to know, don’t they?” </em> the ghost of the Destroyer of Worlds said, walking over to Jaune’s desk and picking up that was once his. Tsukasa ran his fingers across the Decadriver, and just for a moment, the purple surface appeared to be matted in crimson blood. <em> “I mean, no secrets amongst teammates, right? Pyrrha knows about me, after all, you told her as soon as you got out of the Emerald Forest. She should know about everything else right?” </em></p><p>Finally, Jaune mustered up his courage. “There’s… there’s something you should know about me.”</p><p>“Go on, you can tell us,” Pyrrha said kindly. “Whatever it is, I’m sure we can help.”</p><p>“You’re not dying of some incurable disease are you?” Ruby panicked. “I don’t need to pick out flowers for your funeral do I?”</p><p>“I falsified my transcripts.” Jaune murmured.</p><p>“...you what?” Pyrrha asked.</p><p>“I’m sorry, but I swore I could have just heard you say…” Weiss whispered.</p><p>“I said I falsified my transcripts okay? Now you know! I don’t even deserve to be here, much less your team leader!”</p><p>“Oh, Jaune…” Pyrrha sighed, bringing him in for a hug. Weiss’ reaction was altogether different.</p><p>“I don’t believe this!” she shrieked. “You mean to tell me… Beacon is a prestigious academy, going back decades! And you got in by lying and cheating? I don’t believe you!”</p><p>With that, she walked out of the dorm and slammed the door shut behind her.</p><p>“I’ll… I’ll go talk to her,” Ruby said starting after her. “Relax okay Fearless Leader, we’ll get this sorted out.”</p><p>“Yeah, sure…” Jaune trailed off, not sure if he could actually believe that.</p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile…</p><p>“Well, Oz, don’t know what to say,” Qrow remarked, crossing his arms. “Maybe we were both wrong. Cause I dunno, if Jaune was this Decade character, you’d think he’d put up more of a fight.”</p><p>“Oh well, we all have our off days, right?” Ozpin asked.</p><p>“You think he knows?” Qrow asked.</p><p>“About what?” Ozpin replied.</p><p>“You knowing that he falsified his transcripts?” Qrow asked.</p><p>“If he asks, I will tell him. If any of his team asks, I will tell them. Besides, it doesn’t really matter does it? Transcripts often mean nothing, at least to me. It’s if someone is willing to learn is what matters to me…” </p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p> </p><p>Later that night, Jaune found himself practicing in that same warehouse from before. No Weiss, no Pyrrha, no Ruby. He was truly alone, as he always suspected he’d end up being. Oh well, he deserved it, he reasoned. Lying about how he got into Beacon. </p><p>So he did what he always did, practiced his swordsmanship skills. His strikes were rough, laced with emotion, and hardly the elegant slashes from before. In the corner of the room, the Neo Machine Decader sat, gathering dust. He’d snuck it in here one night, back when he had… friends.</p><p>All of Beacon probably knew by now, thanks to Weiss. He could see Ozpin and Goodwitch’s disappointed looks even now. Most likely, he’d get kicked out in the morning with the whole school as his witness. </p><p>“Well, this is something,” a female voice said and Jaune looked up. His breath caught in his throat. Professor Hikari?</p><p>“Professor Kadoya, actually,” Natsumi corrected, Jaune hadn’t even realized he’d spoken out loud. And then his eyes widened as he realized. </p><p>“Kayoda as in…” he breathed out. “Oh Brothers, I’m so sorry!”</p><p>“So you’re his replacement, huh?” Natsumi said, looking him up and down seemingly to appraise him. “...bit scraggly, not a lot of muscle to you, and from what I can tell your swordsmanship needs a bit of work.”</p><p>“Gee, lay it on thick why don’t you?” Jaune deadpanned. “Is there a point to this or…?”</p><p>“Call this, curiosity…” Natsumi said as a little white bat flapped to her finger, bit down before Natsumi said: “Here we go! Henshin!”</p><p>A bright flash of light, and there stood the White Rider. Drawing her sword, Kiva-La stated: “Let’s just see how good you are, and if you’re even slightly worthy of carrying out my husband’s legacy!”</p><p>Jaune quickly transformed. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGtywvNCZ08"> <b> <em>“Kamen Ride: Decade!”</em> </b> </a></p><p>Sparks flew as Jaune transformed the Ride Booker to sword form, spinning away as he put some distance between him and Natsumi. “So I’m assuming you setting that Build rip-off on me was a test as well?”</p><p>“Yeah, I wanted to see if you thought fast on your feet, and how you adapt to unknown situations and opponents. That’s a crucial skill you have to learn,” Kiva-La/Natsumi said, locking blades with him again, glaring at him from beneath the ruby-red orbs of her helmet. </p><p>“And if I happened to die in the process?” Jaune asked, twisting his blade to try and disarm Natsumi, though she mirrored the action.</p><p>“Consequence of the job,” Natsumi said, pushing him back with her blade, getting past the sheer power gap between them with sheer skill. “I’d just find someone actually worthy of the Driver.”</p><p>“How do you know I’m not?” Jaune asked, diving to the left as Natsumi cleaved a crate in half.</p><p>“Well, that’s what I’m here to determine. Me and Daiki, you’ve met,” Natsumi said. And Jaune realized.</p><p>“That Rider in the cave, he summoned him didn’t he?” he asked and Natsumi nodded. “And he defeated Adam, right? Stole his weapons?”</p><p>“Daiki does love his treasures, and despite what he claims, cannot stand by for injustice,” Natsumi said, locking blades with Jaune again. “Oh, you’re getting better. Able to predict my moves!”</p><p>“I do have good teachers, well, I did I guess…” Jaune muttered. “Fat load of good they’ll do me now…”</p><p>Natsumi only Rider Punched him in the gut for his troubles, knocking him out of his transformed state. Jaune slid along the floor, rolling eventually and kicking up dust.</p><p>“That’s enough whining, none of that,” Natsumi said. “You’re Kamen Rider Decade, and I won’t stand around for you angsting like a teenager.”</p><p>“But I am a teenager…” Jaune tried to argue, but Natsumi was having none of it.</p><p>“Not anymore, as soon as you slapped on that belt like Gaim and so many others before you? You took your first steps to becoming an adult. You’ve got a long legacy to live up to, not just Decade’s but the other 19 Heisei Riders. This world needs a hero, a Rider. Those who hide in the shadows must be brought to the light, and justice must be dispensed. Now, allow me to show you just how much responsibility you have to live up to!”</p><p>At this, Natsumi snapped her fingers, and the air around Jaune shimmered. Out from walls in reality, stepped other Riders. 19 to be exact, all varying in design. Some looked like insects, one resembled a samurai. Another, a rocket ship. A fourth, a chimera of creatures. Another was covered in gems. A final, exuding power looked to be designed after a watch. They began speaking over each other, a calamity of noise. Jaune could only catch some of them.</p><p>“Now... you have arrived!”</p><p>“Your city’s crying, it has sins it needs to count up.”</p><p>"Reach out your hand!"</p><p>"Friiiiieeennnnnnnddddshipppp Kittttttaaaa!"</p><p>“Now, it’s your showtime!”</p><p>“This is your stage now.”</p><p>“You ready to go for a ride?”</p><p>"Let your life burn bright!"</p><p>“Ready to begin the experiment?”</p><p>“I've got a feeling this will work out for you!”</p><p>A final one, mostly red, said nothing but gave a thumbs up. And somehow, by this gesture, Jaune felt… actually alright. Maybe… just maybe he could do this after all!</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Riding with the Devil</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Come on then!” Natsumi called over the clash and clatter of blades. “I know you can do better, pick up the pace!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaune tossed the Ridebooker aside, and slammed a card into his driver</span>
</p><p>
  <b><span class="u">“Kamen Ride: Build! Hagane no Moonsault! RabbitTank! Yeahhh!”</span> </b>
  <span>cried the Decadriver as Jaune engaged his opponent, side-kicking her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Natsumi stumbled, blocking Jaune’s punch with her blade, before spinning it to block shots from the drill crusher in gun form. She whirled around, slashing Jaune right across the stomach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He clutched his side in pain, Natsumi leaping forwards and slashing him again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re… you’re merciless,” he breathed out, blocking another strike from her sword with the drill crusher. The weapon’s drill spinning in Jaune’s hand, sparks flew as the weapons ground together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And so?” Natsumi questioned, whirling away, before sending an arc of energy right towards him. “You think your enemies won’t be?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaune dodged the slash, and Natsumi charged forwards, their blades meeting again. They broke away, Jaune inserting another card into his driver.</span>
</p><p>
  <b><span class="u">“Final AttackRide: Build!”</span> </b>
  <span>the Decadriver proclaimed, Jaune leaping forwards, his boot glowing with energy as he slide down what was basically a graph of mathematical equations. Or well, that’s what it </span>
  <em>
    <span>should </span>
  </em>
  <span>have been. Evidently, Jaune took a few cues from one Sougo Tokiwa, and basically all of the formulas consisted of stuff like: ‘something I learned in school’ and such.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Other ‘formulas’ consisted of stuff like 1+1=2 or Jaune+Ruby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sento probably would have been horrified.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That… that doesn’t seem right…” </span>
  </em>
  <span>the resident veteran Rider mused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Natsumi raised her blade, and held back the Rider Kick with her weapon, sliding back on the concrete, ripping it up slightly but holding her ground. Finally, she broke away in a shower of sparks, flipping away and landing behind Jaune as he crashed into a container crate. Jaune picked himself up, dusting himself off, the crate sporting a sizeable dent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Natsumi was shaking her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, uh… let me try that again…” Jaune laughed, inserting another card.</span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“AttackRide: Ore Sanjou!” </b>
  </span>
  <span>the Decadriver proclaimed, and to Jaune’s shock, he turned into Den-O Sword Form, and struck a pose proclaiming he had arrived. Or something like that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He blinked, that… was that supposed to happen?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“And again!” Jaune laughed nervously, Natsumi just watching to see what he did next.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And she was not disappointed, though in reality she was very disappointed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“AttackRide: Bokuni Tsurarete Miru?” </b>
  </span>
  <span>the driver proclaimed, Jaune transforming to Rod Form and striking another pose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mind if I reel you in?” Jaune said before he could stop himself. “Oh god, please tell me I did not just flirt with you, Mrs. Kadoya!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...you did,” Natsumi deadpanned remembering all the times Tsukasa had used </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>card while off duty so to speak.. “...and I’m trying to forget about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaune just wanted to die, like he seriously wanted to sink down into the earth and never be seen ever again thanks to his bungling. Not even Ruby would want to see him ever again! Why were these cards a thing? They should never even be a thing!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...so, should we tell your girlfriend that you’re flirting with married women?” Natsumi asked, locking her blade with the rod, and Jaune let out an angry growl as he shoved the rod into her stomach. Lifting her up, pulling the rod upwards, he tossed her behind him into some crates.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...you’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Jaune drawled, changing back to RabbitTank form.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe a little,” Natsumi said, locking blades with him again, before spinning away and deflecting the drill crusher’s shots with her sword. Slashing forwards, she sent an arc of energy towards the young Arc. He dodged, and Natsumi charged forwards, leaping into a Rider Kick.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaune slammed a Rider Card into his driver, and leaped forwards into a diving kick. The two finishers slammed together, windows all around shattering from the force of the blow. Energy lanced out from the twosome, before they broke away, flipping back down to earth, panting and sweating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good, you’re starting to match me, but…” Natsumi started, before her eyes widened as Jaune shifted forms…</span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Kamen Ride: Build! Teikoku no Hangyakusha! KaizokuRessya! Yeahhh!" </b>
  </span>
  <span>the driver proclaimed, as an arrow of energy came at her like a thunderbolt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Clever!” Natsumi applauded, spinning out of the way, before going into a series of more spins and flips to dodge more arrows. Explosions covered the warehouse, erupting into small firestorms</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Leaping atop a container crate, she sent an arc of energy slashing towards Jaune, who blew it to pieces with an energy arrow. Leaping to meet her, he stumbled slightly upon landing, denting the crate before using the bow like a blade, locking weapons with his instructor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good to see your training isn’t going to waste, we’ll make a rider out of you yet!” Natsumi said, breaking the lock, slashing only for Jaune to dodge and turn her trick right around. He spun, slashing her across the chest with the Kaizoku Hassyar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Natsumi staggered back, even as Jaune drew back the Hassyar’s bowstring. Flipping above the arrow, she jumped back down to ground level. KIcking a container crate towards Jaune, she watched in amazement as he slashed right through it, the pieces crashing to the ground. He still kept going, stumbling slightly but fired an arrow of energy towards her. Side-stepping, she slashed towards him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Kamen Ride: Build! Amakakeru Big Wave! KujiraJet! Yeahhh!"</b>
  </span>
  <span> the driver proclaimed, as Jaune sent a wall of water towards her. Then he changed again, going from water to fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Kamen Ride: Build! Fujimi no Heiki! PhoenixRobo! Yeahhh!"</b>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Final AttackRide: Build!” </b>
  </span>
  <span>the driver proclaimed, Jaune as Build PhoenixRobo rushing forwards coated in flame, his fist drawn back. No time to react, Natsumi realized, and so she steadied herself. Her blade at the ready, she twisted it, and held back the finisher as long as could. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was sent flying.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Picking herself up off the ground, her helmet cracked but not shattered, Natsumi smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so you’ve proven you can handle me. But what I’m really interested in is if you can handle a group of enemies. One Rider? Easy!” Natsumi remarked. “But that’s no longer the case these days, it seems. Lots of Rider wars these days, for some reason. One of these days, you might stumble into one, like that idiot Shinji. And then there are the creatures of Grimm I’ve heard so much about…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, you’re going to…” Jaune asked, his breath catching in his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we’re certainly not going to sing Kumbaya…” Natsumi drawled, snapping her fingers and like a few nights before, the air around them shimmered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riders stepped out just like before, only this time they didn’t look quite so friendly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey look bro,” one said, his armor a grayish shade. “It’s that new Decade we’ve been hearing so much about. Sohji did say something about this one…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He looks green,” the other said, themed after a grasshopper like his brother. “Greener than me. Let’s give him a taste of hell.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They came on him in a flash, leaving Jaune no time to react.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He soon found himself slammed to the floor, the two hopper brothers on the other side of the room laughing. Gray punched Green in the shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you’re right, he’s totally green!” Gray said, his voice beyond irritating. “The </span>
  <em>
    <span>real </span>
  </em>
  <span>Decade would have been in Kabuto form already!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No no, you guys have got it all wrong,” said a familiar voice, Jaune recognizing this one. ”You’ve got to be in a climax from start to finish!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He drew his blade, striking a pose. “And </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>am always in a climax!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaune blushed a beet red under his helmet, did Den-O </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>know how that could be taken?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“ORE SANJOU!” Momotaros proclaimed, causing Jaune to fly into a rage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, you’re the one who gave me that stupid-ass pose card!” He exclaimed, pointing at the time-traveling train-themed Rider.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“HEY, IT’S NOT STUPID! IT MAKES YOU AS AWESOME AND UNIQUE AS ME!” Momotaros seethed. “Alright, just for that… Prepare to get your ass beat Noodle Boy!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Again with the noodle comments…” Jaune said as he dodged a sword strike, only to be knocked off his feet by one of the hopper brothers, the gray one grabbing him and breaking into a run.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So that’s what Ruby’s semblance must have felt like, Jaune mused, before being tossed into a container, denting it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have a little taste of hell…” Punch Hopper snarled, starting up his finisher.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“Rider Kick!” </em>
  </b>
  <span>his belt proclaimed as he struck, and Jaune smashed through the container tearing it wide open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay…” he breathed. Clearly a bit more power was needed if he was going to stop these two.</span>
</p><p>
  <b><span class="u">“Form Ride: Faiz Axel!”</span> </b>
  <span>his belt proclaimed, switching to the shark-themed Rider’s speed based form, and breaking into a run. He only had ten seconds, but that was enough to grab the surprised Punch Hopper, and flip him head over heels into the earth. </span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“Time out…” </em>
  </b>
  <span>the SB-555W Faiz Axel gear said, as Jaune resumed Faiz’s default form, and knowing the other Hopper was going to call, he whipped out the Faiz phone and began blasting the ground. Couldn’t run if you had nowhere to run </span>
  <em>
    <span>to</span>
  </em>
  <span> right?</span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“Full Charge!” </em>
  </b>
  <span>Den-O’s belt stated as the red rider came at him in a kick. Jaune spun to the left, and slammed a card into his belt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Form Ride: Faiz Axel!”</b>
  </span>
  <span> his belt proclaimed once more. </span>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Final AttackRide: Faiz!”</b>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaune leaped forwards in a nigh perfect imitation of the original’s crimson smash. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Time out…” Jaune said with what was probably a smirk under his helmet, before Momotaros reacted, sending a slash of energy at him. He was knocked to the side, crash-landing on the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was that you were saying?” Momo mocked. “To borrow a catchphrase, I can’t hear you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hahaha, never change Momo,” said Meteor wiping the dust off his hands as he and another rider, themed after a gladiator stepped forwards. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have to say, such sloppy form!” the gladiator Rider remarked, and Jaune’s eyes widened. Five Riders, that’s how many she sent against him? This was nuts!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All the same, he’d handled the Hoppers and Den-O so what were two more…?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He drew a card.</span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Form Ride: Build RabbitTank Sparkling! Shuwatto Hajikeru! RabbitTank Sparkling! Yea-Yeahhh!" </b>
  </span>
  <span>the belt proclaimed, with the crack of a fizzy drinks can being popped open, and what looked to be bubbles filling the air. Jaune cracked his knuckles ready to face the two Riders, feeling the power rush through him. He felt energized, this form clearly more powerful than any before it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Den-O, Meteor, and Bravo rushed towards him, and Jaune side-charged Den-O, knocking him to the floor. He heard a cry, and lurched backwards to avoid a staff strike from Meteor, who was clad in gold and blue and shining like the sun. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grabbing Den-O’s blade, he blocked the Rider’s staff before pulling his arm upwards, and Meteor’s staff went flying out of his hands. Jaune took his chance, slashing him. Then, he rolled to the left as what looked to be a cross between chainsaws and swords came flying at him, spinning in the air and looking ready to slice through armor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Slow!” the gladiator Rider chastised. “You should be aware of your surroundings at all times!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaune slid along the floor and ducked under the blades, causing Bravo to step back in surprise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh? Clever!” he said, quite pleased, dodging a punch from Jaune before headbutting the young knight. “But... you rely too much on your many alternative forms I see! You’re not like Hino or Kiryu, where that is your best tactic! Decade, the original, considered these just alternatives near the end of his life. His true power was… well, his main power! He was like lightning, </span>
  <em>
    <span>tre magnifique! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Came upon you like a hurricane! Oh, if it weren’t for my sweet melon prince…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaune caught his next punch, twisting Bravo’s arm causing him to cry out in pain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, playing dirty are we?” Bravo asked. “Huh, well from what Natsumi-Kun said you’re in training to be a soldier right? A young knight in shining armor? Well, let’s see how you do against the real deal!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He kicked Jaune in the stomach with his knee, causing him to barrel over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I fought in one dirty war after the other, I have experience! Yes, I gave up my guns and my grenades for a life of patisserie but that doesn’t mean I won’t stand by and watch another soldier frail about so miserably in the mud!” Bravo lectured, retrieving his swords and slashing Jaune. “Yes, alas, kids shouldn’t have to fight, but apparently in this world, they have little choice in the matter! So, I will teach you how to fight!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaune was sent staggering, nearly collapsing to the floor by the sheer power behind Bravo’s blows. He had to do something, and he knew just what!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Think, boy! How do you get past my overwhelming power!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Simple,” Jaune said, a smile coming to his lips. “I cheat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Form Ride: Build! Inazuma Technician! OctopusLight! Yeahhh!"</b>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaune’s suit lit up, the room becoming a bright flash of light. Bravo staggered about in a daze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Form Ride: Build! Tategami Cyclone! LionCleaner! Yeah!" </b>
  </span>
  <span>the belt proclaimed before… </span>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Final AttackRide: Build!”</b>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaune sucked Bravo towards him, before charging up his fist with yellow energy and flooring Bravo with a golden punch. What looked to be a padlock flew from Bravo’s belt, and clattered to the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my~!” he said, his transformation canceled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaune was panting hard by now, falling up against a wall and collapsing against as his transformation canceled itself out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Glad to… prove… ” he whispered before slipping into unconsciousness, with Bravo running towards him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The last thing he heard before he blacked out was: “Boy!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While this happened, some drama of a different sort developed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon Weiss, you gotta give Jaune another chance!” Ruby protested struggling to catch up to the Heiress as she marched through the halls. “He’s proven himself, so what if he…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Weiss grabbed Ruby and shoved her up against the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He faked his transcripts, does that not seem wrong to you? It seems pretty wrong to me!” she hissed out. “Beacon, as an academy, has a long and prestigious history of only the best of the best getting in. Though, it seems, that has been changing as of late!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So?” Ruby asked squirming free from her grip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So?” Weiss nearly shrieked. “SO?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what?” Ruby asked. “Jaune, yeah sure he may have faked his way in, but if you ask me, he’s proving himself pretty good transcripts or no transcripts!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s the principle of the matter, Ruby!” Weiss said. “Look, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>admit </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jaune has some potential, but we can’t just throw years of tradition out the window!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This had been an on and off argument with them for the past few days, actually.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course </span>
  </em>
  <span>it’s all about tradition with you!” Ruby sighed. “Weiss, listen, don’t you think you should let tradition slide just this once? Like, y’know, maybe make an exception?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Weiss harrumphed, and marched off, her heels clacking against the floors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Weiss…” Ruby whined before hanging her head in defeat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Okay, yeah, she got it. She got why Weiss was a bit upset. Transcripts were kind of an important thing, and to someone so heaped in tradition and such, this would have been the ultimate betrayal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she didn’t have to be so stubborn about it, especially after she’d already seen Jaune prove himself multiple times over! Fearless Leader already had some crippling self-doubts, she didn’t need to add to them!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like…. Gaaaaaaagh. She was so frustrating at times!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stamping her foot, she decided to find Pyrrha. Maybe, together, the two of them would have better luck! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t believe her,” Weiss muttered, going through some practice motions with her sword. “Like, your sister is something else!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang’s fists thundered against a punching bag, before she stopped to take a break. Wiping the sweat off her brow, she took a sip from her water bottle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I dunno, Ice Queen, maybe she’s got a point,” Yang shrugged. “Okay, yeah, I’m about as stunned as everyone else but if you ask me? It’s not a person’s past that matters, it’s what they do in the here and now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How can you be so… so… blase about this?” Weiss asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I dunno, as I said, it’s what Jaune’s done in the here and now that’s what really counts. He’s a superhero, right? Isn’t that enough?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess…” Weiss muttered. “But still…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cut him some slack, m’kay?” Yang pointed out. “Jaune’s a bit of a dork, yeah true, but his heart’s in the right place! If you ask me, that’s what really counts.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Here, she poked Weiss in the chest, right where </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>heart would be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But then again,” Yang mused. “If you want to freeze your heart solid and live up to that whole Ice Queen moniker we keep on giving you, well, you go right ahead! Not going to stop you, how could I? You’re pretty damn stubborn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a real charmer, you know that right, Xiao Long?” Weiss snorted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s me, remember?” Yang laughed. “Like, hello!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, if being a Huntress doesn’t work out for you, you could always try being a model…” Weiss grumbled, noticing her decidedly small assets in comparison to Yang’s own. “Like…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you’re the model Ice Queen! You’ve got the poise and everything for it. The patience,” Yang said, shoving the punch bag forwards towards Weiss, in an obvious hint for her to hold it. So Weiss did, barely flinching as Yang’s fists of fury began to thunder against it once more. “I can’t stand waiting around for anything. I like to dive in feet first, think about the consequences later! Me, I’m the badass who gets to kick Grimm tail and look good doing it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know an attitude like that is going to get you in trouble one of these days, right?” Weiss lectured. “Planning and preparation is everything!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I leave that up to Ren and Blakey,” Yang laughed. “They're the brains of this outfit, not me. I’m content with just being an inspiration!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On what, how to get yourself killed?” Weiss sniped before sighing. “Alright, I’ll bite, how do you figure?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, Grimm are scary right?” Yang said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Obviously,” Weiss drawled. “But go on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If people see someone like me, who’s not afraid of the Grimm? Someone who says: “It's fine now. Why? Because I am here!” every time she goes into battle? Well, maybe then they’ll lose their fear and fight back!” Yang proclaimed, thumping her chest once before she went back to pounding the punching bag. “The creatures of the Grimm feed on fear, and if you take that away from them? WELL! That just makes it easier to annihilate them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose that’s… actually a good way to look at it,” Weiss admitted somewhat begrudgingly. “Guess you’re not as dumb as you look!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, than… Hey!” Yang shouted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Weiss snorted, and for whatever reason, Yang was soon to follow before both burst out laughing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, when are you going to ask </span>
  <em>
    <span>him </span>
  </em>
  <span>out?” Weiss said, looking towards a slightly wolfish man, who’d been taking pot shots at some nearby targets. He was actually pretty damn accurate, really, though he did miss a few whenever he stole a few glances at Yang. Who, for her part, seemed surprised at his existence. “Oh, don’t tell me you haven’t noticed!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Noticed what?” Yang asked, somewhat cluelessly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That guy over there!” Weiss said with a small little smirk. “I mean, come on, surely you haven’t noticed that you’ve picked up certain admirers!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>obviously </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’ve picked up admirers, I’m that awesome,” Yang bragged. “But honestly, I doubt any of them can actually keep up with me when it counts!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, and they call me the cold one…” Weiss said, sweat dropping. Any further conversation was cut off when in stormed a Rider. But not a Rider. It was… well, the term beyond disturbing didn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>begin </span>
  </em>
  <span>to cover it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It looked like two people stitched together, two riders stitched together. It was wrong and horrific and yet strangely fascinating in that morbid sort of way. It was like a patchwork person, one of those old dolls put together by someone who was blind and yet determined to create some sort of product. Black and green, and all destruction, the Another Rider was a twisted fantasy. Like looking into a funhouse mirror, and being asked to describe Kamen Rider Double. Because that was what Yang and Weiss were looking at. Double, but not…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One arm was covered in bandages, and neither woman wanted to even think what was underneath. One eye was covered in scars, a heartbroken expression reflected in his(?) crimson orbs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you ready to ride with the devil?” it asked, it’s voice a rattle like death itself. Cold as the grave. Some of the bandages were beginning to peel away, turning a bright smoldering red as nearby trees caught fire. It tossed a fireball at Weiss, who quickly created a wall of ice with Myrtemaster. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She leaped over the wall, hopping off glyphs and her sword’s blade crackled with lightning dust.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Another Rider, origins still unknown, dodged and weaved out of the way of the sword slashes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Weiss stepped to the side, with a small devious smirk as Yang barreled past her. The brawler slammed a fist into the kaijin’s face, and it buckled, thrown off balance by the force of the blow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dealt with Another Riders like you before!” Yang said grabbing the monster by the shoulder and dragging it alongside a wall, ripping up stone. “Kicked their asses as well! Now who are you? Cardin? Dove? Answer me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, to her shock and amazement, the Another Rider </span>
  <em>
    <span>split in two, </span>
  </em>
  <span>ripping itself in half in a truly disgusting manner. Now, instead of another Double, there stood Another Joker and Another Cyclone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I think I’m going to be sick…” Weiss blanched. “That is wrong in so many ways!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The twin Another Riders cackled, Another Joker ripping a rebar out of the side of Beacon’s smashed up wall, and tossing it like a javelin. Weiss reacted fast, using dust to create a shield of hard light. Which was quickly slashed apart by Another Cyclone’s howling winds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dirt and dust and everything around them began to pick up, creating a whirling tornado which threatened to flatten everything in its path. And things could only get worse, as the tornado ignited into flame.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Weiss stepped back in fear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh god…” she whispered, the grass beginning to become nothing but scorched earth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang realized something then and there. If she didn’t stop this monster, it would go on to hurt everyone in Beacon. It would go onto hurt her </span>
  <em>
    <span>sister! </span>
  </em>
  <span>That could not stand, she had to do something about this here and now. Twisted mockery of a Kamen Rider or not. It had to be stopped. And she… well, if this thing thought it knew how to burn? Well, she could certainly show it a thing or two!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was it I said?” Yang said with a strange glint in her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yang…” Weiss said, before she realized with no small amount of horror what her friend was about to do. “NO, DON’T!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s alright, I am here!” she roared, charging through the hot flame with a roar like a lion, fist drawn back. The earth shook, Ember firing with an explosion as Another Cyclone was sent flying. Yang was covered in scorches and burns, some of her long golden mane burnt away and ashes in the wind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“YANG!” Weiss shouted, rushing forwards as the woman fell forwards.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another Joker ‘hmphed’ before running off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh god, oh god, oh god…” Weiss whispered in a panic, cradling Yang in her arms. “Yang…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did I…” Yang asked. “Did I do it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you did…” Weiss whispered. “Now stay with me, we’re going to get you to the infirmary!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At least…” Yang whispered before slipping into unconsciousness. “At least I protected my sister.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <em>
    <span>“YANG!”</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yang groaned, slipping in and out of unconsciousness every so often. She felt nothing but pain, like a deep scorching pain. She’d heard shouting, angry shouting at that. Weiss’ voice, and… Uncle Qrow’s?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She slipped back into unconsciousness before she could fully register what was said. Something about how she should have been stopped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What did she even do?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Oh right, now she remembered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Charged into a burning tornado.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, that sounded like her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Okay, yeah, she needed her rest. She needed to…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Explain to me what happened,” Ozpin asked, his voice steady but hinting at rage. Something had endangered his students, put one in the infirmary and he wanted to find out </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “All of it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then there was that thing with Jaune…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He needed to have </span>
  <em>
    <span>words </span>
  </em>
  <span>with Mrs… Kadoya, it apparently was now. Something was going on, and he didn’t like it. He hated it when secrets were kept from him!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something resembling, well, Weiss called it something resembling Kamen Rider Double ripped up the training grounds. And my niece decided to stop it, even after it created a tornado of fire. Or after they created a tornado of fire. Apparently, nobody can decide if there was one or two of these things there,” Qrow sighed. “I’ve talked to both Weiss and this other guy, Ashton? Neither of them can give a consistent story of who was there. Ashton says there were two, Weiss said there was only one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose it’s possible both are right, in their own way,” Ozpin theorized. “It’s possible the attacker had a cloning ability, his semblance perhaps?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, and honestly, I don’t particularly care,” Qrow said. “I just want to know </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>they’re here. Were they the White Fang? Or were they working for Mercury?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is… possible that the White Fang are involved, yes,” Ozpin admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But why?” Qrow fired back. “This school’s one of the most fortified places in the world! I’ve seen castles that are easier to get into!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He noticed Ozpin’s expression.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oz, what aren’t you telling me?” Qrow inquired, eyes narrowed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… haven’t been entirely truthful,” the Headmaster admitted. “It’s young Miss Belladonna. She’s…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, don’t tell me!” Qrow groaned, rubbing his temples. “Ozpin, what did you do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wanted her to grow up with a new life, she was running from her past. And if I told anyone, anyone at all, who she was and where she came from? It’d be around the school in merely hours, as alas, you know how the gossip chain works and how nearly impossible it is to keep secrets in this school…” Ozpin chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t funny, Oz!” Qrow snapped, slamming a hand down on the table. “What if it is the White Fang? What if they do know about Blake being here, what then? Did you ever think of that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a deep breath, collecting himself before speaking again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, I get it. You like to give people new chances, and I respect that about you. I really do, but…” Qrow sighed. “Sometimes you don’t see the forest for the trees, you know? Now, I’m not saying Blake is still with the White Fang, but you need to consider the possibility that…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I may have endangered staff and students by putting her here,” Ozpin said. “I’m… beginning to become aware of that. But what do you want me to do, expel her for what she </span>
  <em>
    <span>might</span>
  </em>
  <span> bring upon us?” he questioned, gaze hardening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s… I… You’re right,” Qrow sighed. “You’re right as always. Now if you excuse me? I’ve got to check up on my niece…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Natsumi was aware she may have made a mistake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was aware she may have pushed Jaune just a bit too hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he needed to be ready.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His enemies wouldn’t show mercy, the creatures of the Grimm or otherwise. So why should she?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>He stood against five Riders. The Hopper Brothers, Meteor, Den-O, and Bravo. He had the potential. He just needed to bring it out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, she would continue training him, as long as it took.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But there was something else going on that needed her attentions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>An attack on the school. The White Fang? Possibly. But how did they get the powers of W? She was a Professor now, and she had a duty to her students to protect them. It took a Rider to fight a Rider, and she qualified.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she also knew how Another Rider powers worked. You either needed to push past their ‘rules’ with overwhelming power or have the original Rider in question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, she knew where to find both!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And with Jaune in the infirmary, well… would anyone complain if for a time someone else was Beacon’s Kamen Rider?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Reaching out, she pulled through the dimensions. It was a bit harder now to find Riders, now that the worlds had been separated thanks to Zi-O. But not impossible. And they still all remembered each other, so one less hurdle to go through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Riders helped other Riders, right? Isn’t that what Eiji and Shoutaro said once?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And speaking of such…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw mou…” the detective groaned as he realized what had happened. “You’ve got something against me or something? I was in the middle of a case!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You?” Banjo Ryuga groaned out. “I was just about to go in for a match! I hope this is good, Kadoya, because unlike you I actually have a life outside smashing up monsters!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, isn’t that surprising,” Shoutaro chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>supposed to mean?” Banjo challenged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhmm, how times have changed…” the fedora-wearing detective said. “And they call me half-boiled!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why I oughta…” Banjo growled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“ENOUGH!” Natsumi shouted, placing her fingers on both of them and the two Riders broke down laughing uncontrollably. “Now, we've got a problem and my husband’s successor is in the hospital, while Another W’s running rampant!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At this, she released them, and both turned to look at her seriously sitting up straight. Another Riders? Yeah, things were just about to get very complicated…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Presuming they hadn’t already…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yang groaned, every muscle in her body aching. It felt like she’d gone five rounds with a Deathstalker and still ended up losing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What the hell had… oh right, yeah. That.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Night had fallen, moonlight beginning to leak through the windows. To her left, was Weiss, sleeping at the foot of her bed in a chair. A coat had been tossed over her, not her own but someone else’s.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, thank the Brothers, you’re awake,” said a male voice. Yang looked for its owner, and knew immediately he was a faunus. Not that she was judging or anything. It’s just that the little canid ears perking up from his head made it explicitly obvious what he was. Hey, wait, didn’t she recognize this guy from somewhere?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Dude, I swear I’ve seen you somewhere before, but…” Yang struggled to remember.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just one of those faces, I guess…” the man shrugged, and it would be impossible to notice his ‘fun’ t-shirt. Like, it was loud. To contrast with his somewhat darker skin -obviously a native of Mistral- he was wearing a bright purple shirt, deckered in yellow cubes. It was one of the ghastliest things Yang had ever seen. He, as Yang also noticed, looked as if he was trying not to be sick for some reason. “Ms Schnee’s been at your side for hours, by the way. Like, when we brought you in here she was in a bit of a panic. Can’t say I blame her really…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, what…” Yang started before she was suddenly aware of a searing pain shooting up her arm. She let out a sharp cry, and then turned to look and her eyes widened. She was covered in truly horrific burns and scars, her entire arm a monument to her own stupidity. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Okay, yeah, now she saw why the guy might be looking a bit sick. She wasn’t that far off herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re something else, you know that right?” the faunus muttered. “Brave, foolish, crazy, maybe all three.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang chuckled, nervously playing with her hair. “Well, what can I say? Creep was going to hurt my sister, I had to…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was then she realized something, and quickly grabbed a mirror. Her magenta eyes widened. The entire left side of her golden mane had been burnt clean off. Her blood boiled, before she took several deep breaths. No, that monster hadn’t done this to her. It was her own stupidity that was the reason she was laying here now, like… this. Yang choked back a sob, and felt the faunus’s strong arms pull her into a hug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, it looks like </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>was too hot for me to handle eh?” Yang joked with a little bitter laugh, trying to amuse herself with her own poor puns. “He’s got a real claim to flame now!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In spite of himself, the faunus snorted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s blasflamey, isn’t it?” he remarked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang gave a little ‘needs work’ type of gesture. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So why’d you stay?” she had to ask. “I mean, surely you’ve got classes and a fellow team right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, yeah, but you looked like you’d need a friend or two when you woke up,” the wolf faunus explained, with a little smile. “Besides, the Headmaster’s closed the school while he’s looking for whoever that was. What the hell was that thing anyways? Some new type of Grimm?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pffft, if it were only that,” Yang grumbled. “Now, this is gonna sound kind of unbelievable, but… that may actually be another student under all of… that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re shitting me,” the faunus breathed out, leaning back in his chair. “Like…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t the first time this has happened actually,” Yang explained, and her companion turned to look at her, eyes widened in shock. “Like, I’m sure Ozpin’s keeping this quiet and all, but Team CRDL? They turned into monsters like that back in Initiation. Some mysterious warrior, some guy in pin… sorry, magenta showed up to help us beat their asses.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...yeah, well, I hope he’ll show up soon,” the faunus muttered slamming a fist into his outstretched palm. “Just so I can beat his sorry ass for not showing up to save yo… Beacon, when he should have!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang laughed nervously, and actually now that she thought about it where was Jaune? He’d been vanishing for the past few days, Ruby had said. And he was a no-show on the battlefield today. So where the fuck…? Suddenly she also realized where she’d seen this guy before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, wait, weren’t you at the…” she started.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, uh, yeah, you saw that?” the faunus said, playing with his hair nervously. “Sorry, I guess I sorta seem like a stalker now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s cool, I’ve got admirers </span>
  <em>
    <span>everywhere, </span>
  </em>
  <span>remember? Like, they’re probably lining themselves up around the block just to see moi!” Yang laughed before her voice turned sour again. “Though, let’s be honest, not sure they’ll be so pleased to see me </span>
  <em>
    <span>now </span>
  </em>
  <span>will they? Like, I’m not exactly that much to look at!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, then they’re idiots!” the faunus decided. “Like, Brothers, I know how corny this makes me sound, but… well, if they can’t see past your looks, they’re hardly worth talking about!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you get that out of an old romance novel?” Yang asked, eyes slightly narrowed. “Like, as that sounds like something Blake would say.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then she’s a very smart woman,” the faunus said. “But yeah, </span>
  <em>
    <span>maaaaaaybe</span>
  </em>
  <span> I did? Look, my sister’s a bit of a bookworm m’kay? Anyways, point being!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not just that, really,” Yang remarked. “It’s… well, if people see a beautiful woman saving them, than yes, they believe everything’s alright. If they see a half-scarred fre…sorry, woman, saving them, then they’re not so calm. They’re scared of me, and then the Grimm gain more power. So it’s not just egotism, it’s…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I dunno, if I saw a scarred woman saving me, I’d think I was being saved by a bit of a badass,” the faunus shrugged, and Yang realized she’d never asked for his name.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, maybe, or you’re just an outlier. Because I saw you looking at me, and don’t deny it, you were looking like you were about to be sick. So it’s really fantasy to believe that-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before Yang could argue the point any further, she let out a sharp gasp as her eyes spotted Jaune laying in a nearby bed. Pulling herself out of her own bed, she ran over to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright Vomit Boy, what happened to you?” she muttered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like, hell if I know,” her faunus companion said with a small shrug. “He was in here when we -that being Ms. Schnee and I- brought you in. Looks like he got all of the Emerald Forest tossed at him at once!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang had a working theory, actually, now that she thought about it. Her fist clenched, her hair beginning to burn. He’d been working himself to death, hadn’t he? Of course he had. This all had to do with Decade, that damned Kamen Rider business of his.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now why did Yang care? He was just a friend, and someone who she barely knew at that. Well, she’d seen him making googly eyes at her sister. Now, Yang wasn’t one of those overprotective types, she acknowledged her sister was growing up and was going to be attracting some boys. Of course she was going to be. So, if anyone had to fall in love with her sister, better it be a teammate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Jaune was going to be family one day, Yang reasoned, better she treat him like family and that meant looking after him like she would her own sister.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, by that logic, when Jaune woke up, he was going to get an earful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yang, you’re…” Weiss said as she let out a yawn and woke up, stretching before her eyes widened in surprise realizing the coat that had been tossed around her. “...well, I don’t know who did this, but really! I quite approve! It seems gentlemen do still exist!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The faunus gave a slight smile, and suddenly Yang realized whose coat it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Ooooh, seems we’ve got quite the playah here!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she thought to herself with a smirk. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“And a rather bold one at that!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my… Yang, are you alright?” Weiss gasped in shock upon realizing just how </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad </span>
  </em>
  <span>the burns truly were. She’d gotten a brief glimpse at them on the battlefield, but she’d been shooed out of the infirmary while Goodwitch tried to heal her student to the best of her abilities.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Yang mumbled, not sure if she could really believe that. And then Weiss saw Jaune, and her eyes grew a bit moist -thought she’d later deny this- before they narrowed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Natsumi,” she growled out, before marching off, heels clacking against the floor and the door slammed shut with a crash. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Leaving both Yang and her new friend very confused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eyes narrowed, and everyone rushing to get out of her way, Weiss marched into Professor Hikari’s classroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I assume you know then,” she sighed. For the first time, Weiss noticed the rapier hung on the wall behind her. A very familiar rapier, now that she thought about it. Weiss wasn’t stupid. First a new teacher shows up, and then a mysterious white rider appears in the middle of the night? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yes, quite,” Weiss said. “I’d want to ask what you think you’re doing, but I think you already know. What’s Jaune to you? A substitute for your dead husband? Someone to take out your rage and grief on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you didn’t care for him?” Professor Hikari said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, maybe he’s a bit of an idiot and he’s a liar but I don’t want to see him </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Weiss snapped, slamming a hand on her desk. “So why do you? He’s not your husband, yeah. Nor will he ever will be. But that doesn’t matter. What does matter is I have a friend in the infirmary because you put her there!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me?” Natsumi asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yes, don’t think you’re not as responsible for Yang’s condition as that Another Rider is,” Weiss hissed out, eyes sharp with hot rage. “If Jaune had been able to fight, and he wasn’t lying in bed, Yang might not have had to nearly kill herself to stop Another W. Anyone that monster kills, guess what, their deaths are on your head!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now see here!” Natsumi said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think we’re done talking,” Weiss said. “If you’re not going to listen to reason, I’m going to have to make you listen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Natsumi sighed as the air shimmered around them. “Very well then, if that’s your wish. But be warned, I have years of experience over you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>From the classroom, to the forests of Forever Fall they went. Natsumi drew her blade, and a card passed through her -coming from the left- as she said: “Henshin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Weiss drew Myrtemaster, the dust rounds spinning in their chamber and the air grew colder as icicles formed on the trees. “We’ll see, you’re not the only one who’s trained herself to fight. I’ve trained myself all my life, since I could walk. And I’ve never needed any fancy armor to do it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The air shimmered again, and Natsumi kicked what looked to be a small little red blade, accompanied by a keycard towards Weiss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t patronize me,” Weiss said disgustedly, kicking the items aside. “As I said, I don’t need any armor to hold me back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold you back?” Natsumi said as the two duelists circled each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a hindrance to you, you’ve never split blood without that armor of yours. Me, well… when you’ve fought the creatures of the Grimm with only your sword and your training… I think it’s obvious who’s the superior combatant.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With that, the battle commenced. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blades clashed in the silent forest, sparks flying. Weiss twirled away, her sword’s chamber spinning before the blade charged itself with lightning and the air crackled with the smell of ozone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I use the weapons I’m given, same as you,” Natsumi said, weaving out of the way to dodge a jagged bolt of lightning. “Ask yourself, how is it the same as fighting with your glyphs? Or your family’s summons? How is the same as Jaune fighting with Decade’s powers?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their blades locked, Weiss letting out a little growl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s the principle of the thing!” Weiss said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Natsumi twisted her arm, and the blades with it, before she elbowed the young woman in the face. Weiss staggered back, nose bleeding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stand down, Ms. Schnee, I don’t want to hurt you!” Natsumi shouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Weiss ignored her, charging ahead with sword ablaze. Natsumi side-stepped but Weiss spun and slashed her across the chest. Then, she kicked herself off the rider, flipping backwards and an arc of flame erupted from her sword, rushing towards Natsumi.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman side-stepped, the slash scorching the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Weiss had predicted this would happen and slammed her foot into Natsumi’s head in a diving kick.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Landing on her feet, Weiss spun again, activating her ice dust before thrusting her sword forwards. A fist made of the frozen material slammed itself into Natsumi, and trees toppled like dominos, crashing to the forest floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I admit, you’ve got some moves,” Natsumi panted hard. “Not bad. Not bad at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Forgive me if I don’t take compliments from the woman who put one of my friends in the hospital,” Weiss hissed out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, so Jaune’s your friend now, is he?” Natsumi asked, Weiss forced to dodge a swing from her sword. “I thought you hated him! He’s a liar, isn’t he? He faked his way into Beacon, didn’t he?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their blades locked again, before Weiss broke the lock by shoving her knee upwards and with a </span>
  <b>
    <em>crack! </em>
  </b>
  <span>sound, she nailed Natsumi in the chin. “I’ve been given a lot to think about. Maybe Ruby was right. Maybe I did judge him too harshly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So the Ice Queen does have a heart,” Natsumi sniped, rubbing her jaw.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Amazing, simply amazing,” Weiss said leaping atop a boulder to avoid a sword slash before leaping forwards and nailing Natsumi in the jaw with one well-placed punch. “Strong words coming from a hypocrite!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their blades met again and again, the sound of clashing ringing out through the forest clearing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Natsumi slashed at Weiss, who ducked below the swing before whirling around to side kick her in the stomach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hardly proper form from a lady!” Natsumi remarked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been learning a few tricks,” Weiss smirked, dust cylinders spinning in their chamber. The sword flipping open, it spat out the used crystals as Weiss quickly replenished her ammunition.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Using a tornado to gain some extra height, she sent a searing slash of flame at Natsumi. Just barely holding back the inferno, Kamen Rider Kiva-La vanished in a flicker of white light.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, Weiss’ eyes widened as she realized the woman was behind her. Leaping to a nearby tree branch, she raised her blade as the white rider rushed towards her. Blades met in a shower of sparks, before Weiss jumped forwards, bouncing off Kiva-La’s head in almost comical fashion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Rider’s head slammed into the tree branch, and with a </span>
  <b>
    <em>snap </em>
  </b>
  <span>it was ripped free almost like a twig. Natsumi grew angrier with each passing moment, this </span>
  <em>
    <span>girl </span>
  </em>
  <span>dared to lecture her! She was only training Jaune in preparation for the world! That was it! And she dared to believe she had the moral high ground?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was only a schoolgirl, she hadn’t fought tooth and nail in a battle of survival against Shocker! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her strikes, however, began to get sloppier and Weiss dodged them keeping a cool head throughout.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“She’s nothing you haven’t faced before,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she told herself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You’ve trained all your life on how to defend yourself, and you’ve even picked up a few new tricks since then! You can beat her.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what is Jaune to you?” Weiss said, easily deflecting Natsumi’s next strike. “Some sort of replacement goldfish? You’re projecting! Don’t try and deny it! You want Jaune to be as good as the original Decade, without considering one thing! He’s his own person! He learns and grows in his own way! He’ll never be the next Tsukasa!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“SHUT UP!” Natsumi roared, surging forwards.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myrtemaster’s chamber spun again, and with a slash of her sword, combustion dust ignited and sent Natsumi flying. She smashed into the ground several times, finally coming to a stop, her armor fading away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, I…” Weiss shouted before she felt her aura leave her. She swore silently, having forgotten to check just how fast she’d been draining her aura. She nearly collapsed, using her sword to steady herself, implanting the blade in the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What… what was that about not needing armor?” Natsumi panted, steadying herself by balancing against a tree. “But… you’re right. There, I said it. You’re right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you!” Weiss breathed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I admit, I’ve been projecting. I want Jaune to be the best he can be, that’s fair. But… you’re absolutely right, I’ve pushed him too hard. He’s in the hospital, and you’re also right, if he wasn’t he might have been able to stop Another Double and save your friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And maybe you’re right. Maybe I do need Rider powers,” Weiss admitted picking up the keycard-like device. It read Burning Falcon on the side. She tossed it aside, yeah that definitely wasn’t her. “Just as a fallback, in case this ever happens again. I push myself too hard, I rip through my aura and yet the battle’s not won. I’m going to need a fallback. Maybe… maybe a Driver would be that fallback. I don’t know yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re both idiots, aren’t we?” Natsumi asked and Weiss laughed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps,” she admitted with a little smirk, before clutching her side and letting out a cry of pain. “Okay, yeah, we’re definitely both idiots.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then screams split the air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yang dragged herself out of bed, maybe she wasn’t in the best of shape but she had to defend her school.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The faunus, Ashton as she learned, protested but eventually sighed and gave up throwing his hands up in the air muttering: </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, it’s not like I can stop you…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>So Yang emerged in the courtyard, and found Another W, both halves reunited and students screaming as it tossed fireballs and cyclones left and right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang saw red, her hair igniting and fighting through the pain she lurched forwards. Her burns screamed at her, but she slammed a powerful right hook into the monster’s face. He separated, and in front of her stood Another Cyclone and Another Joker.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first nailed her in the gut with a knee, and she nearly doubled over but pushed onwards slamming her fist into his(?) jaw in an uppercut. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a roar, she tackled the monster slamming it into a pillar. Her pain flared up, but she fought through it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another Joker threw a fireball at her, and Another Cyclone changed into a gold color slamming a rubbery fist into her from the side. Both finally exhausted her, and she began to slip into consciousness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ashton tackle Another Cyclone, before being thrown off. He was hit by some sort of green energy blast, soon as he tried to draw his guns. The light grew brighter and brighter, and Ashton screamed before </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone </span>
  </em>
  <span>stepped in front of them. Yang didn’t see who it was, and nor did Ashton for that matter as they slipped into unconsciousness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got some nerve, you know that right?” the angry man said, built like a mountain and rage as furious as that of a dragon’s. “Attacking kids! I thought when Zi-O’s quest was over, we’d be done with you piles of shit! But… I guess as always, it’s up to me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmX0EdWB1QI">
    <span>A dragon, squealing</span>
  </a>
  <span> flew to his outstretched hand and he slammed it into his driver. A bottle followed.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“KAKUSEI!” </em>
  </b>
  <span>the belt proclaimed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And because you’ve made me so mad… Right now, I feel as if I can’t lose!” Banjo Ryuga roared, turning the crank on his driver with furious gusto.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“Wake up Cross-Z! Get Great Dragon! Yeah!”</em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Armor wrapped itself around the man, twin wings enveloping him. With a roar, Cross-Z charged, his fist encased in blue flame. Powerful blows thundered against Another Cyclone, and wisely it reunited with Another Joker.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not that stopped Cross-Z, as he cranked his driver to the max and he bellowed: </span>
  <em>
    <span>“No one can stop me now!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He erupted forwards, coated in hot blue flame and slammed into the Another Rider. A wall smashed open, rubble flying everywhere as Ryuga leaped forwards, spinning in mid-air. His fist ignited with more flame than ever before, and it looked to be a sure defeat for his opponent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, it separated again, and Ryuga’s fist only met earth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A combination of fire and wind slammed into him, and Ryuga’s armor began to rip away. Then, the wind was torn apart by a slash. There stood Jaune, still in a hospital gown and panting but at the ready. Twin explosions erupted off to the side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No…” Jaune said, putting on the Decadriver. “Your fight is with me. Henshin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Kamen Ride: Decade!”</b>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silhouettes converged on him, his armor forming around him and the Ride Booker summoned to his hand. Crocea Mors was in his other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bringing the blades together, he charged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaune had heard the sounds of battle outside his room. He knew he had to do something, pain or no pain. Then he saw what had happened to Yang. Pain or no pain, he had to fight. He had to become a Kamen Rider once more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He may not have been the world’s best Decade, but he planned to be the world’s best friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slashing with the Ride Booker, he damaged the monsters. And then he struck with Crocea Mors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he struck with both in a pair of horizontal slashes, the end result resembling an X. He spun, striking with both blades again slashing both Another Riders. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“OH NO, YOUR FIGHT IS WITH ME!” Banjo snapped tackling Another Cyclone through a wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh well, not like I’m complaining…” Jaune shrugged, changing the Ride Booker to gun mode.</span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Attack Ride: B-B-B-Blast!” </b>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pressed the trigger, one two three, and the monster was riddled with shots.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaune leaped above a fireball, and slashed at the creature again burying Crocea Mors in its shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then, the monster pulled it out. But not by hand, no… It grabbed onto the sword with an eerily familiar ability, and suddenly Jaune realized, eyes widened in horror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His own sword rocketed towards him like a missile, and Jaune knew who was under there. He realized, Pyrrha, in a moment of weakness had been turned into an Another Rider. God, he didn’t know she took his falsified transcripts so badly. But then he remembered something else, even as rebars shot at him like javelins. Double was the Two in One Kamen Rider, so that meant…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh no.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryuga had already learned who was under the monstrous shell, being hit from the left, and then from the right and then from behind before he even had a chance to react. Who was this guy? Some sort of alternative version of Tendou?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He needed to think fast, no pun intended.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I swear Pyrrha,” Jaune said, dodging the rebars in Faiz Axel form before switching to RabbitTank Sparkling to punch through the rest. He latched onto Pyrrha, hugging her tightly. “I didn’t mean to lie! I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to you, but you have to stop now!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He swore he heard something. A guttural whispered: “Help me…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe it was just his imagination, but he took it to heart. I promise you Pyyrha, he told himself, I will save you.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Banjo was not a stupid man, he wasn’t a total muscle head despite what some people -*cough* Sento *cough*- said. He could think his way out of a fight. And even he knew that you actually needed room to run. So, take that away…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My power is overflowing...my soul is burning...” he growled shaking another fullbottle. “...and my magma is surging!”</span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“Gokunetsu kinniku! Cross-Z Magma! Achachachachachacha Acha!”</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>The very ground began to melt beneath Ruby/Another Cyclone, and she gained a serious case of hotfoot. One Rider Punch later, and she was knocked out of her transformation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, to Banjo’s horror, she returned to being Another Cyclone. And then he realized. Both had to be defeated at once. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Decade 2.0!” He roared, tossing Another Cyclone at Another Joker, watching them reconverge. “Think fast!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would you…?” Jaune shouted before it hit him. “Of course! How could I be so stupid!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both drivers cried out in unison.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“Ready go! Volcanic Finish! Achachachachachacha Acha!”</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Final Attack Ride: B-B-B-Build!” </b>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cross-Z’s body glowed a shocking shade of orange, like a volcano itself, as he leapt forwards pulling molten rock behind him. Jaune meanwhile, leapt through the famous Morris-Thorne wormhole model. Twin Rider Kicks later, and it was over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, what I’d say? I told you nothing could stop me!” Banjo boasted, seeing the two girls laying on the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At last…” Jaune panted, his transformation ending as the W card flew into his hand. “I told you I’d save you right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoovQE_JqiI">
    <span>Obviously, Jaune didn’t even get a chance</span>
  </a>
  <span> to thank his new partner. As soon as it was all over, he vanished.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Typical…” Jaune muttered. “Oh well, at least it wasn’t through a dimensional wall this time…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, can someone get that guy’s license?” Ruby moaned as she stood up, wobbling slightly. “I swear I feel like I got hit by a bullhead…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She tried to take a few steps forwards, but fell and collapsed into Jaune’s arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey…” he blushed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey yourself.” Ruby smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You alright, Barrel Over?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good, how about you Vomit Boy?” Ruby smiled. “Ugh, what happened, last thing I remember was… Oh Brothers!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pyrrha had apparently remembered as well, given her look of slow dawning horror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” she said rapidly. “I didn’t even know what I was doing, I could barely control myself!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know,” Jaune said, pulling her in for a hug. “I know… If anyone should be blaming themselves for anything, it’s me! If I hadn’t lied about getting into Beacon, neither of you wouldn’t have gotten turned into that thing!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s okay…” Pyrrha reassured. “That’s not even what turned us into Another W!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s… It’s not?” Jaune asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And so Pyrrha explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Ugh, I can’t believe Weiss! She’s… she’s so stubborn!” Ruby huffed, throwing herself into her pillow and letting out a muffled scream. She pulled her face out of the pillow, and turned to look at her fellow redhead. “Okay, like, I get it. Jaune lied to us, but I’m sure he had good reason right?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, I mean, I guess…?” Pyrrha asked.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re supposed to be supporting me here…” Ruby whined.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I don’t honestly know what to say,” Pyrrha admitted. “I am getting worried about Jaune though, he’s been vanishing on us for the past few days… It’s… yeah, it’s beginning to worry me.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You think he’s avoiding us?” Ruby asked. “You think he hates us?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, after the way Weiss treated him?” Pyrrha admitted. “I wouldn’t be surprised. I don’t hate people, but… she’s really testing my patience with that attitude of hers!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah…” Ruby whispered fingering the W card, before her eyes glowed a sharp green. As Pyrrha reached out with a worried expression on her face, her eyes glowed purple. And then… they combined.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Beacon is crying… All thanks to her!” Another Double growled, their voices a horrific fusion of Ruby Rose and Pyrrha Nikos...</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaune say in wide-eyed shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… yeah, we’ll talk to her,” he said, his resolve returning. “We </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>will.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then Ruby spotted her sister.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“YANG!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ashton groaned. He didn’t know what hit him. Like, did anyone get the number of that bullhead?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The last thing he remembered was… oh yeah. He looked around, and found himself in a great white expanse. His eyes widened. Was he dead?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His hands went to a fang-tooth necklace around his neck, clutching it tightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m sorry, sister…” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You’ll have to go on without me. Be strong, be merciless. Remnant certainly isn’t…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he realized something. He was bleeding.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wait, the dead don’t bleed! But if that’s the case, where in Brothers’ names am I?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He broke into a run, his ears twitching and his fight or flight instincts on high alert.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He continued running, and then he realized something else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was in the world’s biggest library.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Books piled miles high, surely reaching up to the sky. This was… impossible. But then again, there was a lot of impossible shit going on lately. Man, was Beacon this weird back in his parents’ day?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pulled a book off the shelf, reading it’s title. Faunus. On a bout of curiosity, he pulled another book off another shelf. Prejudice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Interesting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could definitely make use of this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If there was a book on everything in the world…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, perhaps there was a book on </span>
  <em>
    <span>them. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He closed his eyes, remembering the sounds of screams and the sounds of gunfire. A red hot rage filled him, his blood beginning to broil and with a roar, he ripped books off their shelves letting them topple to the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Collecting himself, he took a few deep calming breaths. The state of the world was their fault.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How could it be not?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had to do something. And maybe he finally had the power to do it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So if there was a book on everything in the world in here… There just had to be a book on them. And on their weaknesses.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Keywords…” he said, a rather terrifying smile coming to his face. “White Fang.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, so... yeah. A bit to unpack here. One, huge thanks to Layton13, Thunderclap, and Torrin Jo'gon over on Discord for their help. Like, they had various pieces of imput for this chapter.</p><p>Especially for the Weiss/Natsumi battle. They pointed out that it should technically end in a draw. Like, both sides should have a point and both should acknowledge that. Weiss gets knocked down a peg, and so does Natsumi. Both needed it, I think, and that will continue with Weiss once she learns just how badly she screwed up. Like, she hasn't seen the full scope of how badly she messed up.</p><p>Also, Torrin helped me with Ashton. I had his base personality set, but he tossed in the whole thing about the Gaia Library. He also suggested Weiss using an advanced version of the Freezing Bear progrise key in conjunction with the Shot or Slashrisers. That's not a set thing yet, so I dunno. Layton also helped me with something relating to Faiz that'll come up later, you'll see what it is when I choose to reveal it. </p><p>Also, Another W. I liked the whole idea, but dear lord was it mishandled in Heisei Generations. Was basically a hired thug. Here, they get a whole section devoted to them complete with complimentary powers.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Fire and Ice... No, just Fire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Ashton had enough information on the White Fang to fill an entire campaign against them now.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>He laughed bitterly to himself, slamming a fist into a nearby bookshelf.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Problem is, he didn’t know what to </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>with it!</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>It was useless if he didn’t have the power to end them, use his rage like a weapon and rip them apart at the seams. </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>And more to the point, it was UTTERLY USELESS if he couldn’t get out of… wherever the fuck this was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right, as long as he was in here, he might as well make the best of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Three keywords, that’s all he needed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Keyword…” the wolf Faunus muttered as he ran his fingers along the spine of a nearby book, shelves beginning to shift and move according towards his needs. “Power!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rapidly thought up another keyword.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hero!” he said, knowing if he took down the White Fang, he’d be a hero to his race.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>More bookshelves shifted and moved, and Ashton halted. It wasn’t hesitation for his cause, his course was already set. He just… didn’t know what the next keyword should be.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Wait, what was that thing from before called? Something… something… Oh yes, now he remembered.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Keyword, Another Rider!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bookshelves failed to move, and Ashton gritted his teeth. Right, obviously the wrong keyword.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Keyword… Rider!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time, they did move until only one book was in front of him. It’s title?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <b>
    <em>Kamen Rider.</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Weiss Schnee was feeling tense that afternoon. And not the usual kind of tense where she had to contort to her family’s wills and drop everything else she was doing. No, this was a different kind of tension. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>One spurred on by anger, jealousy, betrayal, and a melting pot of other negative emotions. The whole Another W ordeal was all a blur for her. She’d heard the stories of course, something had gone wild on campus, really. What she was more focused on was her little battle with Kamen Rider Kiv… sorry, Professor Kadoya. She’d lost her temper, and nearly got herself killed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was unbecoming of a Schnee to ever fail. Her parents had rooted that in her mind since the day that she was born, and every day, she had strived for that perfectionism that the family lived for. But now, she had just suffered one of her biggest failures yet. If her parents had seen what she had become, maker help her, she would be finished as a Schnee. Weiss just had to hope that her parents didn’t care too much about the affairs of Beacon. Otherwise, she was in big trouble.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her mind frazzled, Weiss just stomped the ground as hard as she could. “Those weasels… Professor Kadoya… Another W… all of them!” She snarled, teeth grinding against each other. “The next time I see them, I’m going to ram that sword of mine so far down their throats that they’ll be screaming out Beethoven!”</span>
</p><p><span>“You seem tense,” came a voice and Weiss turned glaring at the speaker. Ren barely seemed fazed by the Schnee Glare</span><span>™</span> <span>and instead raised an eyebrow. “Classes are getting to be too much for you, perhaps. No, that’s not it, is it? Problems with your team then.”</span></p><p>
  <span>“No. It’s actually my father.” Weiss let a long and drawn out sigh escape her mouth. “I… may or may not have attacked a teacher. Professor Hik… Professor Kadoya.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suspected she was keeping secrets,” Ren admitted. “She had this aura about her, a woman in mourning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, tch,” Weiss sighed. “Turns out she was the wife of Jaune’s predecessor. She’s been training him, for lack of a better word. I… may have had it out with her when I found out. Hardly Schnee behavior, my sister would be ashamed of me. I lost my temper.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you had a valid reason to lose your temper, right?” Ren asked, folding his hands together. “Most anger has a petty reason behind it, but there are some cases where anger is focused; where it’s driven towards a reason that makes sense for their anger; no matter how out-of-control it gets. So, what was it for you, Weiss?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He leaned forward, looking deep into her eyes. “Was your anger a petty kind of anger? Or was it anger that had a perfectly solid reason?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… I can’t even tell anymore.” Weiss didn’t know how to respond to Jaune’s question. “There’s just so much negativity going on right now, and there’s so much underline tension between all of us. I… I blew up at Jaune, for lying abou… well, that’s not important.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it really is. You’ve seen the insanity that’s going on out there, right?” Ren shook his head. “The creatures of the Grimm, not to mention all these Another Rider things running about. You might not think it’s important, but it’s very important, Weiss Schnee. So please, tell me. What’s on your mind?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jaune </span>
  <em>
    <span>lied </span>
  </em>
  <span>to me, to us. His team. He faked his transcripts to get into Beacon, it doesn’t matter why but he still did it!” Weiss hissed. “How can I trust him as team leader ever again after the fact?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ren blinked, apparently surprised by this new revelation before he sighed. “And did you ever think to ask about his side of the story?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I…” Weiss stammered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll take that as a no,” Ren said sternly, as he cut through Weiss’s stutters. “And you jumped the gun without even thinking about it. It’s common human behaviour whenever they happen to see without knowing the full story.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He put a hand on her shoulder. “You may have been shocked by the fact that Jaune faked his transcripts, but he must have had a reason for doing what he did. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have faked them in the first place.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re starting to sound like Yang, she pretty much told me the exact same thing…” Weiss murmured.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, she may have had a point.” Ren remarked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I…” Weiss started and what could she say to that. </span>
  <b>Yang Xiao Long </b>
  <span>had a point. That big bumbling blond had a </span>
  <em>
    <span>point</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, it was official, this was the weirdest week of her life. Forget Jaune being this Decade character, this topped even that!</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>And as she walked back towards her dorm, it slipped her mind that this was the most she’d heard Ren ever speak in months. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ren, for his part, hid a smirk -it was unbecoming to be so smug- as he watched Weiss walk away. She was learning, it took time, but she was learning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were a lot of strange things going on in and around Beacon lately, he had noticed. All of it seemed to have started when Jaune showed up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not that he was blaming the blond of course. It was just an observation. Little ripples like a rock thrown across a pond. Maybe they’d develop into tidal waves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Another Riders… Ren took a deep sigh, first Team CRDL, and then whoever was behind the mask of Another W. He’d heard rumors and speculations of course, but that’s all they were. Rumors and speculation. He had his own suspicions as to who it was, but he wasn’t going to pry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then there were Torchwick’s movements, robbing dust stores and banks right and left. He was obviously building something. Banks, for the money of course. Even if it were only those, he’d be suspicious. Some would have probably called him paranoid, but then as the saying went only the paranoid survived.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the dust robberies. That was interesting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew what Torchwick was probably building. He just didn’t dare and voice it aloud.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“HI, REN!” Boomed a voice that Ren knew all too well. Speeding towards him with the agility of a roadrunner, she stopped mere inches away from his face with a large smile on her face. “So, how’s it hanging, Ren?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine, Nora. About as fine as it can get, really,” He looked backward to where Weiss had once been. “What about you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh! Don’t even get me started on how my day went. Total. Drag.” She groaned, her face deflating as she said it. “So many boring lectures from boring teachers. Blah, blah, blah history of Remnant. Blah, blah, blah Grimm. Blah, blah, blah Huntress etiquette.” She made motions with her hands to accentuate her tutors drawn-out talks. “Who needs all that when you’re a superhero running around Remnant blowing the crap out of monsters, jerkwads, and anything else that you don’t like?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Being a Huntress is more than just doing cool things, Nora. You have to learn how to handle yourself outside of the battlefield as well,” Ren flexed his fingers forwards. “You can’t just walk up to some random person, say that you want to buy something, and then try to blow the place up if you don’t get it. That’s not exactly Huntress behaviour.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but…” Her eyes went wide.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No buts, Nora,” Ren held out his hand. “Look, I know that you didn’t like how today’s lessons went, but that’s no reason to talk badly about Beacon Academy, your classes, or your tutors.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He held Nora’s hand and looked into her eyes, watching as she lifted her head back up from its’ droopy position. “You and I are both in this together and they only want what’s best for us. If you just throw that away and trample over their kindness, they won’t like it very much. And then, you definitely won’t be able to blow the crap out of things as you want to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But…” She tried to puppy-dog eye him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nora. Please. For my sake. Just… try to pay more attention in class next time?” He asked her sincerely. “Who knows? In the middle of all that boring talk about things you don’t care about, there might be a story or two about a legendary hero or heroine performing feats you could only dream of; let alone replicate.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just that… well.” Nora stopped and took a deep breath. “There’s also that new Kamen Rider guy. Or girl, I’m not sure. The one who showed up in the city more than a couple of times? He’s totally stealing my thunder with all those flashy attacks he’s doing and those big monsters he gets to fight. It’s like he’s making Beacon Academy look like Huntress pre-school.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A new Rider?” Ren asked, surprised. “I thought Jaune was…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s what I thought too!” Nora said. “But someone’s been going out at night, beating up criminals. I was walking back from the grocery a few nights ago, and I saw this guy, or girl -again, I don’t know- taking down some thugs. They’d been harassing a faunus, poor little bee, and then… BOOM! The Rider showed up, white as snow… So beautiful, so sparkly, so destructive!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hearts were in her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Down Nora…” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Ren sighed to himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still, what am I supposed to do whenever he’s going out there looking like a badass, and I’m stuck in here with crummy old pens and paper?” She deflated again, her head looking like a squishy marshmallow with how upset she was. “I wanna be a Kamen Rider too, y’know. They’re looking like the coolest people in the world right about now…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nora,” Ren said. “You’re great just the way you are, you don’t need powers to prove yourself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but… They get to have all the fun they want. I bet they don’t ever have to go to school or learn about things from some stuffy old man or someone so hyped up on caffeine they’re trying to rival me for energy,” Nora rolled her eyes and folded her arms up. “When do I get to have the fun they get to have?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ren sighed to himself, sometimes taking care of Nora was like taking care of a child.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Do I want to know what’s…?” Yang asked as she passed them by, bandages over her arm. An impish grin threatened to break out. “Like, are you two fighting?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, Yang. We aren’t.” Ren turned to face Yang, noticing her bandages straight away. “Are you feeling alright? That Another Rider, it messed you up pretty badly. You sure you should be up and about?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Relax, I got this. Besides, Beacon </span>
  <em>
    <span>needs </span>
  </em>
  <span>to see their star attraction up and about,” Yang explained. “It's fine now. Why? Because I am here!” and all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right…” Ren muttered. “Anyways. Me and Nora weren’t fighting. Nora’s just a little bit jealous that the Kamen Riders are doing what they’re doing, while she’s stuck in here learning lessons in classrooms.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wanna be a super-cool kickass Kamen Rider too…” She pouted, blowing up some strands of hair that had fallen down from her normally tidy hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t rush into things,” Blake said barely looking up from her book. “If you’re destined to get power, it’ll come to you when it does.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Nora nearly whined.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly what it implies,” Blake deadpanned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Which is…” Nora leaned closer, her ear pointing towards Blake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blake gently shoved her away with a hand, before speaking: “Personal space. And anyways, if you’re destined to get a ‘driver’ or whatever, you’ll get one. No reason to be impatient about the whole deal. Plus, your boyfriend-.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not her boyfriend,” Ren put in going ignored.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure you aren’t,” Blake said. “Anyways, Nora, your boyfriend is right. You’re already powerful, I’m fairly certain you can handle whatever’s thrown your way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the point. Nothing gets thrown my way. NOTHING!” Nora stomped on the ground so hard that the other three swore they could have felt a tiny tremor. “I WANT to fight something, but there’s just nothing TO fight. It’s just boring!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...yeah, I can relate,” Yang muttered. “I came to this school to learn how to kick ass, but we haven’t gotten a chance to fight Grimm in days… All the same, we shouldn’t rush into things!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“That’s… surprising, coming from you,” Blake observed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, lately, I’ve had a lot to think about,” Yang sighed rubbing her bandaged arm. “I guess you could say I’ve had a ‘learning experience’.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Out of the corner of her eye, Yang observed what she thought was the school janitor watching her with a look of… she wasn’t sure what it was, approval maybe?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Hey, when did that guy get here, anyways?” she asked, looking back at her team.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who, the janitor?” Nora remarked. “Huh, you’re right, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>new. But what’s it matter? He’s just a janitor!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, but…” Yang mused. “Something’s off about him, not sure what!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“You think he’s a pervert?” Nora asked before gaining an excited grin. “You want me to bash him upside the head with Magnhild?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want me to follow him, see what’s what?” Ren asked gently, shoving his friend down into a bench by pushing down on her head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, not yet,” Yang said. “Thanks for the offers though!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, what’s with your Uncle Qrow?” Nora asked, watching the man walk by looking surprisingly angry. Like a tempest threatening to break really. “Is it just me or does he…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, now that you mention it…” Yang admitted. “I’ll go talk to him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pulling him aside into a classroom, she crossed her arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, what’s with you? You get dumped or something?” Yang asked. “Want me to go smack your ex around a bit?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for the offer, but no,” Qrow said. “It’s just… Well, I’ve found something out and I’m not sure what to think about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, spill!” Yang commanded. “Maybe I can help you sort it out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sure you can handle the stuff that comes out of my mouth?” Qrow asked with a serious look in his eyes. “I know you’re my niece, but even then, that doesn’t mean that you’re ready to handle everything I say. Heck, half of the time, I’m not even sure that I can trust myself with Ruby around...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I think </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ve </span>
  </em>
  <span>been through enough to call myself an adult,” Yang said, glancing at her arm. Underneath all the bandages, those horrible burns still lurked. “So out with it, stop bullshitting me. If it’s something that concerns you, it’s something that concerns Ruby so!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Qrow sighed. “Shit… Can’t ever keep secrets with you kids around, can I?” Grunting, he finally mustered up the courage. “Fine. Screw it. Ya wanna know what’s on my mind? It’s about your friend, Blake Belladonna. I still can’t believe that she’s a goddamn ex-member of the White Fang.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Blake’s a… or she was a…” Yang blinked before muttering: “Well, that explains a lot!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And Ozpin </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew! </span>
  </em>
  <span>He let her into this school, no matter what the consequences are! Her ex, the leader of the White Fang, Adam? If he finds out…” her uncle trailed off, sucking in a breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Adam?” Yang asked. “Who’s Adam?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Adam… ” Qrow sighed before looking at his niece seriously. “He’s a monster, the White Fang used to be peaceful you know. Until he got his horns into them. He turned them from peaceful protests to car bombings, riots. Terrorism. Yang, promise me you’ll never go looking for him. I don’t want you to even consider the possibility!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so Blake’s ex-Fang. Okay… Like, </span>
  <em>
    <span>wow</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I… I’m going to need time to process this.” Yang mused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now you see? Ozpin’s keeping way too many secrets for my liking, and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows </span>
  </em>
  <span>who the White Rider is!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, he knows who…?” Yang asked, stunned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Professor Hikari, or rather Kadoya or whatever she chooses to call herself. I had my suspicions that she wasn’t telling us the full truth, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>wow</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Her being a Rider?” Qrow asked before looking stern again. “Now you must </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>say I told you that. Until we find out why she’s here…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t engage her, got it,” Yang said before growling. “Brothers! There’s way too many secrets in this school for my liking!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Qrow chuckled. “You and me both,” he admitted. “You and me both, kid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then there was that family secret of theirs, he thought to himself...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s just one thing after another, Neo. One thing after a fucking ‘nother…” Roman Torchwick paced back and forth in his hideout that day, with his accomplice, Neo, sitting there, looking worried about him. She could tell whenever Roman wasn’t happy. And this was one of those times. “Destroy this, steal that, cause generalised pandemonium and hysteria to lure in the Grimm, but what does it really mean for me? For us? Sure, the pay’s good, but that’s not gonna mean a thing when the whole place goes up in flames and we can’t find somewhere cozy!”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“So does that mean we’re making a break for it when we can?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Neo signed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course it does, Neo. But that’s the problem. The way we’re always getting drafted, it’s like Cinder doesn’t want us to leave this hellhole!” He threw his hand out violently. “What are we? Just lapdogs subservient to some higher power? I think not!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head. “I am Roman Torchwick! The most dashing, most accomplished, and most feared criminal in the whole of Remnant! And those people think that they can just use me as leverage for their agenda? Keeping us constantly on a leash?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Apparently.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’ve had it!” He slammed his cane onto the ground. “The next chance we get to leave, we’re leaving. No more White Fang, no more Cinder, we’re just going to cut and run. I don’t want to get too involved in this shady business. Especially not with those Kamen Rider thugs going around safeguarding Beacon…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman wasn’t scared easily, but the Kamen Riders did unnerve him. Especially that white one. The way that they effortlessly fought, blowing the Grimm out of the water, Roman did not want to take his chances with a Rider. Any Rider, for that matter. He much preferred his body in one piece over many tiny ones.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now now, what’s this I hear?” said Mercury striding in. “Now you know Lady Cinder isn’t going to like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh great… And here comes the triumphant spy ready to relay his findings back to his master…” Roman groaned at the sight of him. “What do you want out of me now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just making sure you’re not backing out of our deal!” Mercury shrugged. “That’s all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoever said that I was backing out? Your boss will still get her goods! And in mint condition, might I add?” Roman waltzed over with his best salesman style smirk. “If there’s one thing that I do well, it’s deliver. But, I really need to ask, how much longer is this whole thing supposed to go on? When are you going to be done with me and Neo? I want her to have a good life, for Brother’s sake…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aww, and here I didn’t think you cared about anyone…” Mercury grinned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, the things you don’t know about me, Mercury Black. There’s so much that you don’t know about a lot of people,” Roman tutted. “I might be the most dangerous man in Vale, but I still have a heart. I still have someone that I’m looking out for. This isn’t just for my benefit!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That may be,” Mercury said. “But remember, right now, your ass belongs to Lady Cinder. You make a move against her, and…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pulled out a gun and aimed it at Neo’s head. “I think you get the idea.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Another click, as Roman aimed his cane at Mercury’s head and the man pointed his pistol at him instead. “Oh, I get the idea, and I don’t like it. If you touch her…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mercury burst out laughing, pocketing his pistol. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, we’re never going to get any work done like this if we blow each other’s brains out are we? See, you’re too invaluable for me to kill. You </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>the biggest crime boss in Vale after all. You’ve got connections! See, the difference between you and me? There’s someone that you do care about, right? Me, I got nobody. Meaning that I don’t have regrets,” Mercury gave a snide grin. “And that’s why Lady Cinder chose me. She wants people who don’t have any kind of attachment to anything; who don’t feel sorry for the people they trample over; that don’t have anything holding them back. You’re awfully lucky that she even picked you in the first place, now that I know you care about Neo here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I know you know that even your usefulness would come to an end at some point…” Roman smirked. “And I hope it’s me who gets to take you down. Standing over your corpse, now </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>funny!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, if wishes were kisses…” Mercury snarked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope, sorry. I have standards,” Roman returned. “I don’t date psychopaths.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Takes one to know one!” Mercury replied. “Time’s running short, Torchwick. I hope you’re prepared, because a storm’s coming. What will you do when it breaks?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Oh me? I’ll do what I’ve always done. I'll do what I do best. Lie. Steal. Cheat. And survive! Can we say the same for you?” Roman asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t need to do all that. I just do whatever Lady Cinder asked of me. And that’s all that I need to do,” Mercury turned away. “Nothing else. Well, aside from eating and drinking, that’s one leisure I get. Still, it’s the life I’ve got, the life I deserve, and the life that I NEED. I’ll enjoy it however I want to enjoy it. You should do the same, Roman, before someone snuffs it out…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Puns, the lowest form of humor,” Roman said with a roll of his eyes. “How witty. Well, here’s another question for you then! See, the White Fang? They hate you, they hate Neo, and they hate me. They’re dangerous, if you excuse the slur, animals. They’re waiting for an excuse to rebel…”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Is that a threat?” Mercury growled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“More like an observation,” Roman said in reply. “What makes you think they’ll stay in line?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, can it!” Another voice came, belonging to that of Emerald Sustrai, who was walking down the stairs towards both of them. “Lady Cinder didn’t choose either of you for your arguments. She chose you because you’re useful. Now shut up, get your butts out there, and do your job. Before I bring the lady herself down here to smite you both…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have rational concerns!” Roman said. “If Adam were here, he’d be furious. He hates </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>of us! You can get an army elsewhere, why get one that hates your guts? It’s such a tactical error!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because the White Fang are not the army. They never were,” Emerald shook her head. “All that they are are the cannon fodder. The bait. For our real army. The one that we’ll be using to tear this world asunder.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Grimm,” Roman sighed. “And does anyone else not see a problem with this plan? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to become Grimm chow!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then if I were you, I’d learn how to keep my emotions in check. All that fear and concern of yours is gonna have them come running like a fat kid to a buffet, Roman Torchwick,” Emerald jabbed her finger towards Roman. “All that sadness? All that fear? Get rid of it. Now. It doesn’t deserve to be here. The same goes for you, Mercury. Don’t bother antagonising Roman. He’ll do his job, whether he wants to or not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re all idiots,” Roman chuckled darkly as he walked off. “You’re all going to die...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So he thinks,” Emerald watched as Roman left the room, with Neo at his heels. “If only he knew…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No way Salem would ever want to associate herself with him. Not in this millennium,” Mercury scoffed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And she wants to associate with </span>
  <em>
    <span>you?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Emerald scoffed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll have you know I’m a prime specimen! I’m the best at what I do!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, if you call being a violent brute ‘the best’,” Emerald said, before she cast a look downwards. “Besides, you’re only half a man.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t see </span>
  <b>you</b>
  <span> on the front lines, Emerald!” He snapped back. “Sure, let me do all the work, while you just sit back trimming your nails, dyeing your hair, and looking like the prettiest girl at the ball!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would I want to waste my breath on those losers when I can just send my big, bad, beefy enforcer; my ‘prime specimen’ out there instead?” Emerald teased, maliciously massaging his shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah? Then what makes you so special, then? Why in the hell would Lady Cinder choose you if all you do is hang back and do fuck all?” Mercury barked. “Meanwhile, I’m hauling ass out there, doing double duty all because you don’t even bother to fight!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think I can’t fight? You think that I’m just weak?” Emerald cracked her neck, then cracked her knuckles. “Well, let me show you just how wrong you are!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She dashed forward and tried to land a punch on Mercury’s cheek, when a wall of flames cut them both off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Enough of this incessant nonsense!” Another female voice came as the wall of flame dissipated, and here came Cinder Fall down the stairs to see the brawling criminals. “Do you honestly think you’re accomplishing anything by bickering?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I think I am. It’s her that’s doing nothing,” Mercury poked Emerald with his thumb.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s the one who provoked me!” Emerald threw her arms out at Mercury. “Saying that I don’t do anything other than trim my nails and—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I said ENOUGH,” Cinder Fall made intense flames that reached the ceiling, charring the wood above, leaving burn marks. “Emerald Sustrai. If Mercury thinks that you are doing nothing, then here’s the chance to prove him wrong. And Mercury, if you think that Emerald’s a worthless teammate, let’s just see whether or not my experiment proves otherwise.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She walked past both of them, shoving the two aside before turning back to glare at the twosome. “For this next heist, you’ll be working with Roman and the White Fang. And that is an order. I want to see you both fighting whatever comes your way. If I don’t see either of you contribute, I will be very upset…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, milady!” Emerald quickly said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pssh, whatever…” Mercury grumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was that?” Cinder’s eyes blazed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, you got it! I’ll work with the idiot, maybe then he won’t get his ass kicked by this Decade character!” Mercury snorted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You had better hope for your sake that you are in perfect sync with Emerald, Mercury Black,” Cinder warned. “I wouldn’t want to grill you and feed you to one of Salem’s beowolves. I’ve heard they tend to enjoy well-cooked humans very much…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gave a sadistic grin. “So what’ll it be? Will you be a perfect pair? Or would you rather be lunch?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The answer was immediate.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“YES MA’AM!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good,” Cinder continued to grin before she leaned forwards. “Now tell me more about this Decade…”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Meanwhile, Roman, with a roar kicked some crates aside. “DAMN HER!”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re lucky those weren’t full of dust,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Neo signed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t believe we’re in this deep, Neo,” Roman muttered. “Your boy has made quite the mistake! We should have cut and run while we still could. The White Fang, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking </span>
  </em>
  <span>White Fang. Like… holy shit. We need to figure this out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“So what’s our next move?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“We gain an advantage,” Roman said before going to his office, Neo following. Finding a safe, he entered a combination before the safe door swung open. “And lucky for us, I have one!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He brought out a weapon, a deep red blade the shade of blood. Along with it, was a keycard of some sort, the same frightening shade. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Where did you…?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“My men found this in Forever Fall, the clearing it was in looked trashed. Don’t care how, don’t care why. But something tells me that this little beauty is about to even the odds, in </span>
  <em>
    <span>our </span>
  </em>
  <span>favor!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pressed down on the keycard, and it gave a little screech.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“INFERNO WING!”</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Weiss sighed to herself as she lay on her bed, lost in thought.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Her father wasn’t responsible for this, at least not all of it. She chose to act the way she did. She could have rebelled the moment she set forth in Beacon. </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>But no, she had elected to be her father’s perfect princess.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her mother would be ashamed of… no, she didn’t care about anything anymore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except finding the bottom of the nearest bottle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Winter had been right years ago.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I'm not always going to be around to save you, Weiss. You need to become your own woman, eventually. You'll have to if you ever want to leave.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>At the time, she thought her sister meant leaving for Beacon. Now, she realized, she meant leaving her father behind entirely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, if that was the case… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She supposed her sister was some of the only family she had left. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d found her resolve. Now she just needed to follow through. No more hesitation.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Brothers, I owe my entire team such an apology…” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Weiss thought to herself, having only now realized she might have been crying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a gentle knock on the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Weiss?” that irritat… no, strangely comforting voice of Ruby’s asked. “You in there? You okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m… no, I’m not okay,” Weiss admitted and before she could get another word out, Ruby burst in like a hurricane, rose petals in her wake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who hurt you? Just tell me their name, I’ll kick their butts for you!” Ruby said. “You’re a jerk, but you’re still my teammate and I-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Weiss hugged her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Weiss?” Ruby asked, blinking in shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not okay, but… but with you around, I think I will be,” Weiss admitted. “Don’t take this the wrong way you dweeb, I still don’t like you. But, maybe we can improve our relationship, but listen up.  I’m only going to say it once and never again. I’m… sorry. For all of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Weiss…” Ruby said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like I said, I’m only going to say that once. I’m not the overly apologetic type.” Weiss stated. “So don’t expect me to start weeping out apologies.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“You don’t have to, I… I can tell you meant that one,” Ruby replied. “Sincerely.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my gods, Weiss, you’re exhausted!” Pyrrha said as she knelt down next to her teammate. “Are… what happened to you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I got in a fight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Weiss…” Pyrrha said disapprovingly. “...at least tell me you won!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pyrrha!” Ruby gasped in shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, it’s a perfectly valid question,” Pyrrha replied. “And if this is what happened to Weiss, well, I’d hate to see the other guy!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Girl, actually…” Weiss corrected. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened to you, like really?” Jaune said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I may or may not have… attacked Professor Kadoya for training you too hard,” Weiss admitted quickly, her voice barely a mumble. “We… I guess you could say we struck an accord. She’ll be training you better from now on, WITH my supervision. So you’re welcome.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...I’m both amazed and horrified,” Pyrrha commented.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, join the club!” Jaune said, almost faintly. “You… you actually fought Natsumi?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, you’re fighting her as well so I don’t think you can lecture me!” Weiss snorted and Jaune was soon to follow. “And… honestly? I have something to say. It doesn’t excuse my behavior here at school, but you deserve to know. When I was ten, my dad finally admitted to my mom that the only reason he married her was for the family name. It was actually on my birthday. He missed the big dinner, she got mad, he finally snapped. I think she already knew. Looking back, I think I knew too. But hearing him say it finally pushed her over the edge. First, it was separate lunches and dinners, opposite balconies at my recitals, a glass of wine here, a glass of wine there. Then, it was no dinners, no recitals, a bottle of wine here and... well, you get the idea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh Weiss…” Ruby said, hugging her tightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your father’s a monster,” Pyrrha stated with a small growl. “I never thought I’d hate a person, but I seriously hate him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Join the club right? A monster, that sums it up. He loves to control people. My mother, my brother, he tried it with my sister. She left and joined the military. He almost got to me, and… I’ve been so afraid,” Weiss took deep shuddering breaths. “When you're around him, you have to act like him, think like him, be like him…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh Weiss…” Ruby whispered, bringing her teammate in for a tighter hug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To her surprise, there was the sound of a soft muffled cry. Weiss was sobbing into her shoulder. “I don't want to be like him anymore…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shh…” Ruby whispered. “You don’t have to be, not anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I was, and I was trying to earn your respect the wrong way. I was such a control freak, I wanted to be the boss of this team and earn my father’s approval, even though I knew I never would.” Weiss continued to cry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Weiss, you don't have to earn our respect anymore..." Jaune said. "You've proven yourself time and time again. We respect you because you're you. We respect you because you’re our friend. That's it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even if I haven’t been much of a good one?” Weiss asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not true,” Pyrrha argued. “You, in your own way, you’ve been trying. You found Jaune a training spot, and just now you defended him against Professor Kadoya. You’ve helped us, and now it’s our turn to help </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>. You need friends… well, now you’ve got three. Probably seven unless I miss my guess!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you say so…” Weiss said before she stood up. “Right, let’s try this again. My name is Weiss Schnee.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She offered her hand, and all three of her teammates took it one by one and shook it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ruby Rose.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pyrrha Nikos.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jaune Arc.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s good to meet all of you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ryuga had seen a lot of things, he thought he’d have been prepared for whatever this Beacon place could throw at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kids with powers, barely out of their teenage years!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Man! He didn’t understand it!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not one bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What were they even training for? War?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Of course, he wasn’t being paid to understand what they were training for.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>No, what Kadoya’s wife had brought him here for was to just keep some of these kids out of trouble really.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hah! </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Now that’s funny!</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Him suddenly playing a role model to anyone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And more to the point… well, he knew that if you told teenagers not to do something, they’d probably do it anyways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>...oh, this was going to be fun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hopefully, Shoutaro was having better luck with… whatever he’d been assigned to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, he was so going to kick Natsumi’s ass after this, provided his husband didn’t do it first. And he was a rabbit, so he knew a thing or two about kicking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yang Xiao Long was many things. She was a brawler, she was a big sister, and she was friends with a Kamen Rider. But what she wasn’t was graceful in defeat whenever someone stronger than her put her down. No. Yang just couldn’t let that slide. For all that she knew, anyone that she lost to could have been working for the enemy, collecting her weaknesses, trying to figure out what made her tick.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And there were bigger things at play here. These monsters, these Kamen Riders, as well as the Grimm. They all inhabited the same world. They all posed dangers for Ruby and for both of their teams. As long as these dangers existed, her sister might be dead if Yang wasn’t on the absolute pinnacle of her game. That’s why she needed, not wanted, to prove herself. For if she didn’t, and Ruby found herself in the jaws of a ravenous Grimm on another Rider-Level monster, then she was as good as gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And if that wasn’t enough, there was also all of the stuff going on around her team. Professor Hi… no, Kadoya training Jaune till he dropped, not to mention the whole Another W situation that had happened? Yang couldn’t help that all of it was her fault; that she was partly to blame for letting any of it happen in the first place. She wouldn’t make the same mistake again. Not in her life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her fists thundered against the punching bag, embers flying from her long golden mane.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You seem like you’ve got a lot on your mind,” said a voice, Mistral-accented. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang looked up. “Wait… aren’t you the janitor?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Among other things, yeah,” the man said, and for the first time Yang noticed the silver dragon under his uniform, cast against a pitch-black shirt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...love your shirt,” Yang commented. “Gotta say though, you’re cramping my style, there’s only room for one dragon in Beacon.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Is that a challenge?” Banjo asked. “Your stance, it’s all wrong, by the way. It’s rough, and more likely to get you on the mat than doing any actual damage.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what do you know about fighting?” Yang challenged. “You’re just a janitor!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I am now, but I had another life once!” Banjo laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop being so cryptic, damn you!” Yang snapped. “Who the hell are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just a friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well friends don’t spy on friends,” Yang hissed at him. “Oh, don’t act so surprised, I saw you lookin’ at me earlier, what are you? Some kind of pervert?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why you, I oughta…” Banjo started before sighing. “No, I’m not a pervert! I’m damn offended that you’d call me one! I have a husband, for Fruit Jesus’s sake!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was a name Yang hadn’t heard before. What was it, some kind of energy drink?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“You’re weird.” she decided then and there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Says the woman who can do enough damage to level a small city block!” Banjo snorted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...what’s that supposed to mean?” Yang said, her voice barely above a growl, her eyes beginning to turn red.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“...what is it with Riders and Tsunderes these days?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Banjo wondered to himself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Seems to go part and parcel with the job these days! What is she, the new Decade’s girlfriend? That’s the way it goes right?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, say something!” Yang snapped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re two of a kind, you and I,” Banjo said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...not helping the pervert accusations, you know,” Yang said. “That’s starting to sound like a come on!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Man…” Banjo said. “What I’m trying to say is, I think I can help you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, right! I don’t need help with anything!” Yang slammed her fist into the ground. “Ruby, my sister, is gonna be safe! I need to prove that! If not for my sake, then for hers!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good, that’s the spirit!” Banjo said gleefully. “When you fight to protect someone you love, that’s true power! When you fight for, and oh my husband’s going to be so smug about this, love and peace, that’s your true power!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Brothers, that sounds so corny.” Yang snorted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Problem is, you’re likely to get someone killed with that temper of yours!” Banjo remarked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what’s THAT supposed to mean?” Yang asked, eyes flaring red.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a wild card, and not in the good way. You’re impossible to predict, you’d fly off the handle at the slightest insult,” Banjo said. “If you’re going to protect anyone, you need to fix that!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Strange. Here I thought getting angry made people fight better,” Yang scoffed. “After all, all this anger makes me stronger, so what’s the point of changing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...well, I can’t argue with that. No, actually I can,” Banjo commented. “You keep fighting only like that, and it’s going to get you killed. You’re basically fighting like you’re throwing a tantrum.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Blake had said the same thing, Yang remembered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your anger needs to be focused, let it flow like magma instead of erupting like a forest fire,” Banjo commented before pulling out what looked to be a little bottle. The odd thing was, it seemed to be encased in hard rock, Yang noticed, as the man gave it a little shake. “...and trust me, I should know a thing or two about magma.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s where she’d heard his voice before, Yang suddenly remembered.</span>
</p><p>
  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZSHyCECRAM">
    <span>“...you, I heard you. You fought Another W,”</span>
  </a>
  <span> Yang said before remembering something else, her rage flying free. “You fought my sister! I was supposed to protect her, supposed to stop her, bring her back to her senses!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She threw a right cross, which Banjo caught.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...well, I meant to challenge you to a fight anyways, see how good you actually are,” Banjo muttered before laughing. “Imagine, I’m the calm one in this scenario! Guess you’re rubbing off on me, aren’t you Sento? Me wanting to play the hero!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get to the point, damn you!” Yang hissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just you and me, let’s see how good you are,” Banjo grinned back, cockily. “Can you really protect your sister the way you are? Let’s see!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang dashed forward as Banjo, letting out a howl as she threw a strong punch. Banjo simply leaped backward, caught her punch, pulled her forward, and threw her against the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Throwing on a strange belt, the very air boiled around him as he transformed.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“Gokunetsu kinniku! Cross-Z Magma! Achachachachachacha Acha!”</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>His armor boiled and hissed, glowing a frightening shade of orange, lava dripping off it. Banjo slammed a fist into his palm, steam hissing before he charged forwards with a roar of: “COME ON!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What… the fuck?!” Yang looked on in shock at what Banjo had become. “You’re a… Kamen Rider?!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then, as she looked into the suit of her foe, another thought overtook her. If she could prove that she was stronger than a Kamen Rider, then she would be able to handle anything. Yes. This was her moment to finally prove herself; that she could stand on her own two feet and keep Ruby safe no matter what.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Duh. Kamen Rider Cross-Z.” Banjo introduced himself, his suit still hissing and steaming. “My power is overflowing ...my soul is burning… and my magma is </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> surging! What about you, think you can take me on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“BRING IT!” Yang tightened her hands up and felt her rage and her frustration reach its’ peak. “I’m not going to sit back and feel insufficient! Come hell, high water, or my death, I will be a huntress!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Banjo caught her punch, and kneed her in the gut with a roar before Yang slammed a fist into his helmet in a left cross. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pummelling the staggered Rider, she continued slamming a fist into his gut like a piledriver.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lava erupted off his suit, and Yang barely felt it but she did feel Banjo go into a powerful uppercut with the Magma Knuckle knocking her across the room. He grabbed her, leaping forwards, before tackling her into another room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Up in his office, Ozpin felt the school shake, his cup rattling. He sighed, another day in Beacon, another wall to replace. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is… is that all?” Yang taunted, her hair ablaze with light as the two traded punches. As fast as she laid a blow, she had to evade Banjo’s. There were mere milliseconds between the two, and Yang found no safe corner to stop or to catch her breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t bet on it!” Banjo shouted, headbutting her. He grabbed her, before spinning her around in lariat and tossed her. Yang flipped in midair, landing on a wall before pushing herself off it, spiderweb cracks left behind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a sound like a gunshot, shell casings landing on the floor, Yang’s fist drawn back for a powerful punch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Banjo realized he had no time to react, smashed through yet another wall as the two continued their battle in the courtyard outside. The air brushed against their body as they emerged into their new battlefield.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“She’s got Evolto levels of stamina,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Banjo realized as he caught a punch with his elbow, before breaking away in a spin, side-kicking Yang in the stomach. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Either that, or I’m just getting old!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re looking pretty sad,” Yang laughed. “And you’re starting to look pretty tattered, Teach, and your blood’s gonna look pretty splattered!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Don’t bet on it!” Banjo said, grabbing her and slamming her against a pillar. Yang kicked him in the stomach before slamming another fist into his helmet. And then, two shotgun blasts as she punched him again, and his helmet </span>
  <em>
    <span>cracked</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Banjo staggered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like I said, pretty tattered!” Yang laughed cockily, seeing an eye beneath Banjo’s cracked visor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look at you, you’re getting cocky! Caught up in the thrill of the fight! How can you protect your sister like this?” Banjo asked, punching her again and then again. “Imagine! What if Grimm were coming at you from all sides, and your focus was only on the one in front of you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another punch and they were back where they started in the indoor gym. The two continued to trade blows.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re all punch ado about nothing!” Yang said and Banjo had to laugh, something told her that she’d get along with Hiden. “I can handle myself!”</span>
  <span></span><br/>
<span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Prove it!” Banjo challenged. “If that’s the case, why haven’t you defeated me yet? Have you… punched the gun?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re asking for it, you know,” Yang cracked her neck and shook her arms. Her eyes glowed a ferocious shade of red as her hair burst out further. This was her rage mode; rarely seen by anyone. Those that see it usually never live to tell the tale. Usually. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Banjo saw the attack coming and sidestepped as Yang slammed into the floor in an exhausted stumble, ripping it apart. Chunks flew, bouncing off Banjo’s armor. He smirked, she was tired. Exhausted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh well, nothing for it then. Slamming the Silver Dragon Fullbottle into his knuckle, he activated his finisher. </span>
  <b>
    <em>“Ready, go! Volcanic Finish! Achachachachachacha Acha!”</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>His fist blazed with silver fire, Yang’s eyes widening. And at the very last second, his fist stopped just an inch from her face, still burning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, go on!” Yang said. “Land the knockout punch!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead, Banjo canceled out his transformation, his armor vanishing in globs of magma.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t need to, I think my point’s been proven.” he commented.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Yang knew he was right, she’d gotten so caught up in the thrill of the fight and she’d gotten so furious she’d been easy to take advantage of. Brothers, that sounded so dirty, but how else was she to describe it? He beat her, fair and square. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…” Yang admitted as Banjo helped her up. “...you’re right. So, where do we go from here?”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, so huge thanks to Shadow for helping me write this chapter. Like, this one was intimidating as there's so much going on.</p><p>I may end up extending the chapter amount according to my needs. (Yes, again.)</p><p>But, anyways... As soon as Banjo started to play a role in the story, I knew he and Yang would have to have a brawl, like it's so obvious innit? I personally find it hilarious he had to play the mentor role, which was half of the reason I did it.</p><p>And Roman? Well, you can see where his character arc's going, he's rapidly realized he's in way over his head. The Burning Falcon thing wasn't planned, hell originally the Slashriser was going to someone else but then I realized. Roman the Kamen Rider. I mean, hello!</p><p>There's a few more revelations to come, but I'm keeping those close to my chest. Until the next time, and stay safe okay? We're in cold and flu season now so...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Black and White</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>No excuse, really. Like none. *Thankfully* though I've picked up a co-writer and with his help, I should get to an actual release schedule. I plan to have two more chapters this month actually and I know that doesn't mean much from me but I swear to you by Fruit Jesus' name.</p><p>Also, in regards to the ending of Decade VS Zi-O -if you haven't seen it skip past this part- I do plan to take it into account. Timeline-wise, you could presume this takes place before that and if it did happen it'd be with Jaune instead of Tsukasa.</p><p>*Ouch* though, like I'm supposed to be the one killing off Tsukasa. Not you Toei! Did you take a peek into my ideas folder? Are you inside my brain?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>"Decade, the destroyer of worlds. What do you see as you travel through the many worlds?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaune’s mind had been through an awful lot recently. The birth of Kamen Rider Decade, the attacks from the White Fang and those mysterious figures, and now, he found himself staring beyond the unknown; through the ethereal corridors of space itself. He had to admit, being a Kamen Rider he had gotten used to. But powers like this? He might as well have been hailed as a god, with legions of followers, churches, and monuments to his name. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Obviously, he didn’t want to be but… but he knew he had the power to reshape dimensions. Supposedly. He still wasn’t sure just how powerful Tsukasa had ever been.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even now, just looking at this whole thing was enough to drive him insane. But… he had to be strong. Not just for his sake, but for their sakes as well. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, and everyone at Beacon. He wasn’t about to let something as otherworldly and alien as a magical gateway to all of reality itself put a damper on his spirits. He just needed to figure out how to cope with it. And how to explain all of this when his secret as a Kamen Rider was eventually unearthed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His friends knew, and they promised not to tell. But… secrets were hard to keep. He’d barely managed to hide it for this long.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>With a wave of his hand, he dissipated the door between worlds and the shimmering wall faded away into nothing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt about really to collapse, honestly. Who knew it would take that much out of him, just making that if only for a few seconds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got… any more… tricks you wanna share with me, Decade?” Jaune frustratedly lashed out at himself, trying to see if he would awaken something else on that day. But for all of his ranting and his breathing, nothing of the sort came. Finding the strength to keep going, Jaune stood upright and slowed his breathing. “Alright. Add that one to the never-ending list. Magical metal suit, sword powerful enough to stop even the largest of Grimm, and now I can open up gateways between reality. God. I’m never gonna be able to explain this without sounding like a lunatic… Like I should be committed to an Asylum.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He paced nervously, feeling his strength start to return.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Man, this is wild.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>At times, anxiety pricked at him like the thorns of a cactus. Could he ever live up to Tsukasa’s legacy? The man was -apparently- the Destroyer of Worlds at his height. Despite how that sounded, his job was to go to a dimension too far gone to be saved and give it a mercy kill.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dimensions on the verge of collapse, their inhabitants under suffering far too great.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But… then again, did he have the right to do that? End all of those lives with a snap of a finger?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Or should he search for another way out, save them somehow?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a moot point right now isn’t it?” Jaune eventually conceded. “I have all of this power, and it’s next to useless right now as it is. I can’t do anything with it, not if I don’t know how to use it.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>The blonde laughed to himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It couldn’t come with an instruction manual could it, now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So… how long did it last? You as a member of the White Fang, I mean…” Ruby looked towards Blake, sighing gently. She knew that this wouldn’t be an easy topic to discuss with her, especially since they had only known each other for a short time. But she wanted to know more about why Blake changed. No secrets between friends right?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Between comrades.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>There would come a time when she would have to have Blake at her back, and trusting her completely. </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>How could she know if she could trust her if Blake kept a part of herself hidden away?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“It’s… it was a stupid choice, I thought I was doing something right,” Blake admitted. “That I was going to change the world.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>The faunus knew she wouldn’t be able to keep her darkest secret hidden forever. Ruby had approached her after class and pulled her out of earshot. Obviously hoping to confront her privately.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That you and… that you and </span>
  <em>
    <span>him </span>
  </em>
  <span>were going to change the world?” Ruby asked, with Blake nodding weakly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d been radicalized,” Blake sighed in shame. “I know this is an oversimplification of the matter, but in the end I probably failed to realize that giving into all of that rage and… and anger at the world? In the end it would only prove certain people right about my kind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess… when you put it like that, it’s hard for things to change, is it?” Ruby just looked down at her hands and idly twiddled them. “All this Faunus hate. I don’t get it myself, but I can see why people loathe you. But that doesn’t mean that, by law, all Faunus are evil. You’re the proof of that rule, Blake; that everyone’s worth saving, no matter how much they’re swimming in hate, or twisted by evil.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a bright beacon of light, Ruby. I wish you were on my team, yours is lucky to have you,” Blake laughed a little. “But… I wish that were true. Not everyone’s worth saving Ruby, and maybe you believe I am but I’ve got things to atone for. My past… it made me who I am. I have to make amends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Blake…” Ruby reached out to touch her friend’s shoulder, though the faunus pulled away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Spare me your pity, Rose,” Blake mumbled. “I don’t deserve it.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Yes, you do, and maybe you made some mistakes sure,” Ruby shrugged. “But that doesn’t mean you’re a terrible person. Look, we both set out to change the world in our own way. Me as a huntress and you as an activist.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Activist, sure, that’s what we’ll call what I was. Now </span>
  <em>
    <span>there’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>an oversimplification of events,” Blake laughed bitterly. “I’m sure I’ve changed the world, if not necessarily for the better. Faunus are more hated than ever!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“So?” Ruby shrugged.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“SO?” Blake nearly shrieked.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Prove them wrong,” Ruby said. “Isn’t that what you do, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I…” Blake started, before being forced to concede Ruby’s point as she could find no response to that. “Yeah that’s fair.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>As they talked, another ear listened and debated if she should step in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Prove the world that they’re wrong through actions, not words,” Ruby said. “Look, I set out to be a role model for girls as a huntress and you can be the same. A role model for faunus. A, uh, hero? There’s more than one way to inspire change, right?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I…” Blake started. “You know, I was wrong about you, Ruby?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“How so?” her friend asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you unbearably naive,” Blake said. “Just a young girl in way over her head.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, well,” Weiss started as she opened the door. However briefly, the door didn’t lead to the inside of that abandoned classroom. Instead, it led outdoors. Weiss quickly shut the door, and opened it again surely believing she must have been seeing things. “That’s how my teammate is, she has a way of surprising you when you least expect it.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Awwww thanks, Weiss,” Ruby said, blushing and beaming as she curtsied to her friend before realizing. “WEISS!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How much did you hear?” Blake asked, in an interrogative fashion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“More than enough,” Weiss admitted. “I… you know, if it were a few weeks ago, I might have hated you for keeping this a secret, Belladonna. A part of me still wants to scream at you, I will admit. But I understand why you did it. I came here to this school to prove I’m more than just my family name and you did something similar. I can respect that. Kali and Ghira are your parents right?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“How…?” Blake asked. “How did you know about them?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“My father screamed about them a few times,” Weiss said. “That’s the way he is. I won’t repeat all that he’s said as I’m sure you already know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I…” Blake admitted with a nod. “I can guess. I’m sorry for causing your family so much trouble.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Don’t apologize, I’m actually kinda glad you caused trouble for my family in hindsight. I know it sounds strange, but you exposed the kind of man he was to me in a weird way,” Weiss said. “I admit if I hadn’t seen him for real with my own two eyes I might have bought into his lies a bit more.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Technically you still did buy into his lies,” Blake said before she could stop herself. Looking ashamed, she mumbled out: “I’m sorry, that was too much. I went too far.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No no, that’s fair. I was a horrible little girl when I stepped onto these grounds a few months back,” Weiss said, cheeks flushing in shame as she pulled up a chair. “My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed; an entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Blake said on reflex.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh Weiss…” Ruby whispered in sympathy for her teammate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!” Weiss’ voice hardened like ice before it softened like snow. “But I don’t despise you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean…” Blake couldn’t even find the words to respond to such a comment. To think that all of this came from the Ice Queen herself, Weiss Schnee. Was she dreaming? Or was this real? Still, she wouldn’t pass it up. “I don’t blame you for getting angry at me either. It’s true. The White Fang I know are all the same. Unwilling to let go of the past, so deeply-rooted in their ideals that they actually bring shame to the Faunus name. I hate them just as much as you do, Weiss Schnee.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… see,” Weiss said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’ve hurt all of us,” Blake replied. “They’ve become too dangerous, I… I think they need to be burned to the ground at least in their current format.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Woah, woah,” Ruby said holding up her hands. “That’s a bit much right? Like that’s crazy talk right? ...right? I mean, listen to what you’re saying! That doesn’t sound much like justice to me, that sounds like revenge.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I…” Blake sighed, realizing she’d clenched a fist in her anger. “Yes, you’re quite right. It’s just I’m so angry at how much damage they’ve done to Faunus kind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you mustn't become like them, that leads to nobody winning,” Ruby said. “All of that rage and anger, everyone will end up just getting burned.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, before anyone could say anything, they noticed something… strange. The space around them, the very air in fact, was starting to twist, buckle, and ripple. It was as if reality itself was shivering before their eyes. The three Beacon Academy girls couldn’t help but take their minds off of the conversation at hand to witness this unknown anomaly, and what it was starting to do to the world around them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wh… what the?!” Blake was the first one to show surprise at the whole thing. She had seen her fair share of horrific sights before, but this was a first for her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get back!” Weiss barked, and reflexively the two girls did just that upon her orders. But just as the strange anomaly had appeared, it soon disappeared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, uh, that uh…” Blake stammered as they backed out of the classroom. “That was weird.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“It felt kinda familiar,” Ruby admitted. “I’ve felt that energy somewhere before, but I’m just not sure where.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, well, when you remember please do share with the class,” Weiss said before considering. “Should we tell the Headmaster?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“About what?” Blake asked. “About a strange energy? What else could we tell him? It sounds crazy even when I say it! And I witnessed it!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Yes, agreed,” Weiss admitted. “We simply wouldn’t be able to tell him much. It’s best we wait until we know more.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhmmmm,” Blake said. “Back to the White Fang though. About these robberies, I simply can’t believe the White Fang is stealing all of this dust without a very good reason.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“When I saw them, they looked like hired guns,” Ruby remembered. “It was like they were working for Torchwick.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Working for a human? Never!” Blake said. “Adam would soon eat his own horns before bowing to a human.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Collaborating maybe?” Weiss theorized, thankfully glad that the hallways were empty right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On what?” Blake mused. “They’re up to something big, building up to something. We’re only seen the previews, the trailers. What’s opening night going to be like?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I heard about a ship from my father’s company making port tonight,” Weiss remembered. “It’s bringing in Dust. A </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot </span>
  </em>
  <span>of Dust.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...oh, we’re going to get in so much trouble aren’t we?” Ruby realized as they walked down the corridor. “...hey, is it just me or does this hallway seem weirdly longer to you girls? Like I swear it was shorter yesterday!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re imagining things.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“No, I’m not guys. I swear!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman Torchwick was deep in thought as he paced back and forth, with Neo, his ever so silent partner in crime just staring at him. Roman couldn’t get that girl out of her head, and a certain other figure he’d had the misfortune of running into more than a few times. “Summer Rose… Summer, Summer, Summer, why can’t I stop thinking about that chick?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neo just held up one of her ever-so-abundant signs. This one reading, “Who?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you remember, Neo? THE Summer Rose? One of the most legendary Huntresses to ever exist? The Bane Of All Grimm? The Slayer Of Evil?” Roman asked, stepping closer to Neo with each word that came out of his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope. I wasn’t even born to hear those stories,” said Neo’s next sign.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course…” Roman just scoffed and shook his head. “Anyways… there’s something about this girl, this Ruby. Whenever I see her, I think of Summer Rose, but I don’t know why! What’s the deal with her anyway? What part does she have to play in this? And why does Summer Rose always come to mind when I look at her?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neo nodded. She did seem awfully familiar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you so obsessed with her, anyways boss? She’s just one girl.” her next sign read.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why am I—BECAUSE SHE’S ALWAYS STOPPING ME, NEO!” Roman Torchwick burst into flames, seeing Neo shiver at the sight of him. Seeing his little dumpling scared by his own words, he just let a sigh come out of his lips and just patted her shoulders. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Just a little bit on edge with everything right now. The planned White Fang attack, the Grimm rampage that’s gonna come after, and I think you and I are gonna die in the midst of all it, Neo. And… I don’t want us to die. That’s the worst, y’know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re in over our heads boss,” Neo signed. “Joining up with the White Fang was a stupid decision.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you think I know that?” Roman snarled before sighing as he reached into his pocket bringing out that strange keycard-like device. “But now I’m free. Now I can fly. Now we can fly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, if Cinder doesn’t drag us back down to the ground,” Neo replied. “Give a reason I can’t just stab her in her sleep. Give me a reason.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before Roman could even answer, he noticed something out of the corner of his eyes. Something rather… strange. Just outside the window, he saw the atmosphere, rippling and warping around him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Izu, did you have to explain the joke?” a voice whined, a brunette of vaguely Mistralian descent said. “It ruins the whole punchline!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“But Aruto-sama, I thought that </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>the joke…” a second voice replied, female.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neo followed the sound of the voices, looking outside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s cute,” she signed, looking at the female member of the duo. “I’d totally tap that.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Brothers, I must be tired,” Roman muttered to himself as the duo faded away like spirits. “I’m starting to see ghosts!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They didn’t have Auras, either of them,” Neo noted. “But that’s impossible, isn’t it?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Apparently not,” Roman replied. “Ghosts! Man, this job gets weirder all the time!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“We don’t have long before the raid,” Neo held up another sign, looking gleeful. “Man, I cannot wait to see what those poor fools down at the docks will think when they get a taste of your newfound power!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes!” Roman laughed. “They won’t know what hit them. I feel unstoppable!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Boss, you sound like you’re going mad with power.” Neo observed.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Of course I’m going mad with power, you ever try going mad without power? It’s impossible, I tell you,” Roman laughed before his smile faded. “Summer, she was unstoppable. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Unkillable </span>
  </em>
  <span>even. And yet she’s lying in a cold dark grave on Patch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He seemed oddly solemn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A worthy opponent I presume?” Neo guessed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose you could say that,” Roman said vaguely. “She always knew how to put up a good fight just like her… Oh. Oh! Now that’s interesting! Rose, you naughty girl! I should have known!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>He laughed, realization hitting him like a freight train.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something the matter, boss?” Neo asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman laughed again. “No, nothing. Just worked something out, and it explains so much! Those eyes… Neo, I should have realized. I’ve seen them only one place before this. Man, Ruby just keeps getting more and more interesting by the day!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He checked his watch. And speaking of interesting, things were about to get </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>interesting indeed tonight. It was time to go to work.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Ren?” Nora asked, looking towards her partner with a smile as the two of them strolled down the Beacon Academy corridors. “Ya ever see two people who ya can’t help but feel would be perfect with each other?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you talking about married couples or just friends?” Ren asked with a blink. “Are you hinting at something Nora?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Friends, silly!” She playfully jabbed her elbow into Ren’s arm. “Anyways, there’s two people here that I just know would be total boyfriend/girlfriend material…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you… are you talking about us?” Ren asked, somewhat nervously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not today. Though, all ya need to do is ask.” She chuckled. “But no. I’m talking about Pyrrha and Jaune!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… see,” Ren said, sounding slightly disappointed though he quickly hid it. “How’d you figure?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, Pyrrha’s been kinda nervous since coming here and Jaune’s got a whole lotta problems of his own. I figured that the two of ‘em could sit down together, maybe talk it out, go for a nice meal to get their minds off of everything…” Nora was already envisioning the scenario playing out in her head, albeit with crude little doodles representing Pyrrha and Jaune. “Anyways, they’re not gonna make a move all by ‘emselves, these two. They’re soooo pining for each other, but refuse to admit it. Someone’s gotta push the boat out and give them a chance.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And by someone you mean you?” Ren asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yep! I’m gonna put those two together. Trust me, Ren, they’ll thank me for it later!” Nora pushed her hands together, a smirk crossing her lips; one that she quickly had to hide as Jaune came around the corner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think the old fallback is in order, eh Renny?” the ginger whispered to her best friend. “The classic blind date! Because clearly, they’re never going to go for it themselves.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Maybe you should just give them time,” Ren suggested. “I think it’s better to let the relationship develop naturally.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pffft, where’s the fun in that?” Nora giggled, her eyes sparkling with the young woman looking positively impish. “I think it’s better to meddle!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you say so…” Ren replied, not really sure if this was going to turn out so well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, c’mon. Where’s the fun in sitting around and doing nothing all day? Better this than having to ponder about another one of those history lessons. Blegh.” She stuck her tongue out, then quickly stuck it back in. “Well, c’mon, Renny-poo. Matchmaker Nora’s ready to go to work! I’m the case!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ren sighed, long since resigned to his fate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Jaune!” Nora waved, excitedly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh? O-oh! Hi, Nora.” Jaune quickly had to find his smile. He was still trying to think about everything that had happened as Kamen Rider Decade. At least this chat with Nora would help get his mind off of all the stress. “What’s up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, not much. The usual. Classes, fantasizing about Kamen Rider Nora, that sorta thing.” Nora just batted her eyes left and right. Jaune suppressed an involuntary shudder at that frankly horrifying thought. “What about you? You’ve been pretty down in the dumps lately. What’s on your mind?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… nothing really,” Jaune replied. “At least nothing important.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>He knew it was a lie, but it was better not to burden Nora with his troubles. It’s not like she’d understand anyways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you need some way to turn that frown upside down..” Nora reached her hands to Jaune’s face and pushed the corners of his mouth upwards, forcing a smile on Jaune’s face. “10 out of 10 really. That’s a good smile! Ya can’t just keep on thinking about the worst, y’know? The best way to enjoy life is with a smile; not with a frown.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose…”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Alright, so what is it? Anxiety, nerves eating away at you? Pricking at you like a cactus?” Nora interrogated. “Alright, let me guess, it’s the test coming up in a few isn’t it? No no, you don’t need to worry about it, I’m sure you’ll ace it with flying magenta colors! But what you need is a night on the town!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m… I’m not much of a partier,” Jaune admitted. “I’ve been busy practicing with my sword, and stuff. Matter of life and death and all that, y’know?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I know I know,” Nora waved a hand dismissively. “But if you’re always so caught up in training life may just pass you on by! You need to have some </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun </span>
  </em>
  <span>every now and again, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I guess…”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“What do you mean you </span>
  <em>
    <span>guess?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Nora said, poking the blonde in the chest. “No, you know. Not guess. You know I’m right!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nora…” Ren couldn’t help but think that maybe she was being a bit too rash with this; especially about dating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, Jaune. You’ve been pushing yourself so hard as a Huntsman trainee. Don’t you think you should go out and have some fun every once in a while?” Nora asked with a smile on her face. “We’re not gonna be kids forever, ya know. Enjoy what we can, before it all goes to hell in a handbasket.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, when you put it that way,” Jaune said. “Alright, what’s your plan?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Trust me, Jaune. When you see what I’ve got planned for tonight, you’ll totally be thanking me for it.” Nora snickered, as devilish as a little prankster. Though, in her case, she was a good-minded one; not one out to cause trouble for Jaune and Pyrrha. Though maybe she would stir up a little chaos in their relationship, all in the name of love of course.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I feel so reassured…” Jaune deadpanned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Relax okay?” Nora patted his head, ruffling the blonde’s hair. “You just let Auntie Nora take care of all this. You just make yourself look nice and pretty alright?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I’m older than you…” Jaune muttered.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“By only a few months!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora skipped off, whistling a jaunty tune as she did so. Things were going well according to plan. Now all she had to do was get P-Money onboard and everything was okay-dokey!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A hunter’s moon was rising up over the bay, casting a white shine over dark waters. It was an eerie silent night, perfect to do some dangerous dirty work.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"All right, grab the tow cables!" someone shouted, and Blake closed her eyes sadly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...so they are behind it,” she whispered looking at the men in fanged masks. “I really didn’t want to believe, and yet in my heart I knew.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To her right, an old friend from Vacuo. Sun, as bright as his name. And to her left, her friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Roman…” Ruby whispered to herself, her voice a hateful hiss as she eyed the man. “Right on cue.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, what’s the hold up here?” the redhead barked, tapping his cane impatiently. “We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try and </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span> pick up the pace?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Such a hateful man…” Blake seethed, and she was gone in a flash.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Blake!” Weiss shouted. “...don’t do anything stupid!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I think that ship has already sailed,” Sun muttered. “Now we just gotta keep it from sinking.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s going to be difficult…” Weiss replied, knowing how stubborn the faunus was. Even now, she was holding her sword to Roman’s neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this man?” Blake hissed out, ears flattened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, talk about an unexpected twist! Does Ozpin know you’re out this late?” Roman laughed before slamming his cane in Blake’s foot. He aimed it like a rifle, the cane engaging its weapon form. “Does he know about that little piece of gossip huh? Oooooh, should you really be around kids?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He fired, and Blake rolled to the left as a fuel tank exploded the fireball rising high into the night sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to end this here and now, Torchwick!” Blake declared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady. Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself? You have to stop me first,” Roman laughed. </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Easy,” Blake said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you cocky?” Roman laughed. “And in any event, didn’t you get the memo? The White Fang and I… we’re embarking on a little joint business venture together!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cane met sword, sparks flying. “Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Roman shoved a foot into her gut, making the Beacon student stagger even as Bullheads converged on them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little </span>
  </em>
  <span>operation!” Roman laughed as he pulled out a certain device and pressed down on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“Inferno Wing!” </em>
  </b>
  <span>it declared with a little cry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only now Blake noticed the odd little red blade strapped to his waist like the world’s oddest belt buckle. Weiss’ eyes widened as she recognized it, and a glyph made Blake shoot upwards even as Roman transformed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Henshin!” Roman shouted, slamming the card into his driver. “Now cry in despair, and witness my power as I fly up to the heavens!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <b>
    <em>“Slashrise! Burning Falcon! The strongest wings bearing the fire of hell.”</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>Fire rose up around the newest Rider’s feet forming a ring around the surrounding area as if a match had been struck to gasoline. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell?” Blake shouted as she leaped to safety. “When did he become a Rider? What, is everyone just getting handed out belts right and left nowadays? Who next? Is Ruby suddenly going to become a Rider?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I mean… if someone offered!” Ruby laughed as she readied herself to face her arch rival. “Torchwick, give yourself up. I don’t want to fight you, but I will and not even new Rider powers will save you! You’re facing justice!”</span>
</p><p>
  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgfjJ9gSpZI">
    <span>“Little Red, so glad you</span>
  </a>
  <span> could join us,” Roman chuckled. “Sadly, it’s time for you to leave. It’s way past your bedtime I think! Isn’t there a curfew in this town?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There is. A curfew on evil like you!” Ruby held Crescent Rose as tightly as she could and rushed for Roman Torchwick and his forces, a yell accompanying her as she ran. Here and now, she would end this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ooooh, so corny!” Roman, or Kamen Rider Roman she supposed met her weapon with his own blade. “You sound like you’ve just hopped on out of a comic book. Word to the wise, Little Red, if you’re trying to sound intimidating it’s best not to sound like a Silver Age cheeseball superhero!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He slashed at her and struck her in the shoulder smashing through her aura shield. Ruby let out a scream of pain, the blade stinging like a million fire ants as the pain nearly became an inferno.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman kicked her in the stomach, his armored knee then shooting up to meet her chin. Reaching out, he grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her into a container.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t have time for you, Little Red. I got schedules to keep, and as much as I’d love to spar with you… well, you know how it is. No hard feelings about any of this,” the newest Rider shrugged. A brief moment of hesitation, before he overcame it. “Boys, take care of her. Try not to rough her up too badly though, a pretty girl like her should meet her own funeral looking her best.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the White Fang closed in. An army of Faunus ready to shred Ruby Rose and her friends to pieces. Each of their weapons unique, like an angry mob militarised. Their feet like a stampede, their yells as a ferocious siren. They were ready for war.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, a ghostly white figure crashed through them sending them flying as if they were pins before a bowling ball. A </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘reeeeeeeeet!’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>split the air as a spectral warthog faded away into nothingness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe it was foolish, Weiss mused as she outed herself to the Fang. But she’d never be able to forgive herself if she didn’t do something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“More friends of yours, Red?” Torchwick taunted, his sword pointed out at Weiss and her intervention. “Bring all of ‘em, why don'tcha? Not gonna change a damn thing!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gunfire peppered his chest, Sun’s staff splitting into two as he lit the bird-themed Rider up. Roman staggered back, the hellish hawk armor battered by weapons fire. A burning flamed falcon emerged from the armor, the metal model rushing towards Sun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then again, one of Weiss’ summons smashed through it. Two Bullheads up above extended lines, their pilots all too eager to kill a Schnee. Wrapping their cables around a container, they pulled it forwards and let it go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The mass of metal rushed towards the Heiress, intent on crushing her before a shot breached it. Ruby stood her ground, Crescent Rose at the ready in rifle form and smashing through the container with a single shot. The metal caught fire, burning to ashes even as she reloaded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Two more shots ripped through the air, smashing through the bullhead’s wings and bringing them down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby grinned toothily. “Bang.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Even as she said this, the twin craft went up in equally massive fireballs. She turned away from the mess, her cape flapping in the wind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cool girls never look at explosions, right?” Ruby said, aiming her rifle at the White Fang. “That’s what Yang says anyways. Well, come on! I’m a Huntress of Beacon Academy, bring it!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Could you do it?” Roman asked, knife at the ready. Ruby changed back to scythe mode to meet his blade. “End a life, just like that? Look someone in the eyes even as their lifeblood spills over and their very light leaves their eyes?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I’m a Huntress, I didn’t say it’s easy but I accept the fact that one day I may have to fight more than Grimm,” Ruby said solemnly. “For you it’s easy, but for me it never will be. That doesn’t change the fact that I have to do it.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“You sound more and more like a soldier every day, Little Red,” Roman said even as they sped away from the main part of the battle in flashes of red light. “I approve.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He spun, charging his weapon with energy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That being said…” </span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“Burning Rain!” </em>
  </b>
  <span>his weapon declared and two arcs of energy rushed towards Ruby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re nowhere near my level!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blake and Sun could see the explosion even as they fought Roman’s forces. Still, they had to do what they could. As the whole place shook and trembled, Sun used his staff to not only attack, but also to vault himself through the battlefield. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As for Blake, she swung her gun ribbon out, warping behind the White Fang armada, then backflipping as they turned and tried to swing their blades at her. Taking the gun back, and with precise shots, she shot the visors, shattering them with a single bullet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As both of them landed, they slapped each other’s hands in understanding and charged at the White Fang. Once they were close enough, Blake slid underneath the White Fang soldiers, her guns shooting and her knives slicing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sun was going over their heads, striking them from above with his cudgel. Struck from above and below, the White Fang forces were obliterated in mere seconds, falling to their knees as the two Faunus friends burst through them, standing back to back as more Faunus came running in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still wanna go?” Sun taunted, his nunchucks draped over his shoulders. “We can do this all night, ya know!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can someone drop a banana in front of this kid’s path?” someone shouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I’d eat it before slipping on it if that's what you're going for,” Sun said, now standing atop his staff like a true monkey. “But points for effort, and really you shouldn’t brag about your plans aloud.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>He leaped forwards, spinning his staff and knocking the two soldiers in front of him off their feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nearby, Weiss found herself facing off against a huge member of the Fang, wielding a chainsaw. She ducked below a wide swing, the blades ripping through the side of a container.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reinforcing her sword with her aura, letting it wrap around the weapon she held back another slash with her blade. Then, she shoved her palm forwards as it glowed with a glyph. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thrusting it into the man’s chest, he shot backwards as if fired from a cannon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m a Schnee, we’re the best of the best,” she said holding up her blade and striking a stance. “That means either you need to send better men to kill me, or you need to just give up now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One member of the Fang flipped towards her, throwing his sickles on chains towards her. One chain wrapped around her arm, pulling her forwards as a sickle attempted to bury itself in her shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Weiss tugged the chain, dragging the user forward into her clenched fist drawn back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you didn’t like to get your hands dirty, Schnee!” Blake chuckled as they stood back to back against the forces of their hated enemy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Belladonna.” Weiss replied simply.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whispers broke out. A Schnee working with a Belladonna? Treachery!</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Your parents will hear about this, traitor!” someone shouted. “And Adam!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“They’ll have to go through me then,” Weiss said, her sword gleaming in the moonlight. “She’s a student of Beacon Academy, just like me. You won’t touch her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sun knocked the terrorist out with a blow to the head from his staff. “Yeah, what she said.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Well. That plan’s in tatters,” Roman looked back to the rest of his cronies. “Do we have </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally anything else</span>
  </em>
  <span> that we can throw at them?” He asked, then noticed the team looming over him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very well then! En garde!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With that, he engaged the threesome.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Down below, Neo fought Ruby, apparently both at an equal match.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby pulled away from the shorter girl, spinning her weapon around behind her with the scythe blade now peering over her right shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...okay, I gotta ask. Like are you younger than me? Because </span>
  <em>
    <span>man, </span>
  </em>
  <span>I thought I was short!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neo glared at her, her weapon gripped tightly in her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She doesn’t talk much, does she?” Ruby asked, clashing with Neo over and over. Even as she got a good strike in and saw Neo flinch in pain, she didn’t even make a peep. “Just got nothing to say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doubtfully, it’d be anything you’d want to hear, Ruby Rose! But still, get your hands off of her!” Roman raced to Neo’s side, his sword drawn and clashing with Crescent Rose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no you don’t,” Blake said, crossing Gambol Shroud with Roman’s blade. “Your fight is with us.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Very well then, I’ll take all three of you on then!” Roman said, before re-engaging the trio. With each slash, he sent out an arc of fire towards the threesome. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sun and Blake dived, as a glyph from Weiss threw up a wall of ice to block the flames. Another arc just smashed straight through the ice wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Weiss slid backwards, ducking under the inferno. She slammed the tip of her sword into the ground, spikes of ice erupting from it as its chamber loaded up some ice dust.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wings extended from Roman’s back, erupting from his armor as he flew up above the spikes only for gravity dust to drag him back down to earth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Baby bird’s apparently not ready to leave the nest just yet,” Sun said, spinning his staff and scoring powerful strikes against Roman’s armor. “Hey, I thought you were ready to fly, Torchwick?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>An explosive punch from Roman floored him, smashing through his shield.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am, and I’m burning bright while doing so!” the man laughed. “This candle has been lit!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Just don’t burn yourself out!” Blake said, clones of herself surrounding the Rider.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bold words,” Roman said, his blade sparking with energy. “From a housecat!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Ruby and Neo continued their battle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Ruby tried to deliver a Crescent Rose strike, Neo rapidly opened and closed her parasol to deflect the attack, following up with a swift jab from her umbrella. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Ruby slashed downward, she shattered Neo like glass, which caused the real Neo to strike her directly in the back of the head. She was left wide open for a pair of parasol jabs, a strike to the nether regions from the same parasol, and a kick to the face that floored Ruby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Owwwww, in the lady parts? Really?” Ruby groaned in pain, using her scythe to support herself. “Have you no shame?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spinning her weapon, she changed it to rifle form and Neo was forced to race behind containers as the gun fired death with every blast. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby had no choice but to give chase after Neo, who raced off down one path, leading Ruby to give chase, only for another Neo to run in a different direction behind her. As she cornered the Neo she was chasing and shot the gun part of Crescent Rose at her, Neo just shattered. Another fake. But then, where was the real Neo?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby looked around and saw another Neo running off. She just ran after her. She then saw another Neo running in a separate little corridor off to her side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then another two Neos on both the left and right sides of the end of that corridor. Before she could think about which one to chase, a third Neo ran behind her back towards the entrance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, which one is it?!” Ruby made an anime-girl-style pout and tried to make sense of all of these Neos running away from her. As she despaired, another Neo leapt on her shoulders, grabbed her head with its knees and threw the huntress in training against the walls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby, to her credit, quickly recovered and flipped the Neo to the ground cracking the concrete below.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It vanished into shadow, obviously an illusion. Ruby grimaced, and recovered her weapon and spun in a circle firing again and again with blasts ripping through containers. </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Neo, the real one this time had been thrown up against a container wall, and lay unconscious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good riddance…” Ruby sighed, and saw the smoke rising from nearby. “Now to help my friends!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Roman kept the others on the backfoot, never letting them gain the advantage. And all the while, Natsumi watched.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So this is the group you’re so interested in?” time suddenly froze as a dimensional wall rippled, and out from it strode a long haired man dressed in the latest post-apocalyptic chic. A massive clock rose up behind him, ticking away ominously. “Which one’s going to lead us into the next decade? I have an ascension speech prepared and everything.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I thought you only did that for your King?” Natsumi commented.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, yes, normally but it doesn’t feel right not to do one,” Woz remarked. “Apologies for your loss by the way.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“From you and the rest of the Rider community, you’re not the first to express sympathies,” Natsumi replied to the prophet. “What are you doing here anyways, shouldn’t you be keeping an eye on that King of yours? He’s about to graduate isn’t he? Shouldn’t you go back, make sure nothing unexpected happens?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure nothing will go wrong if I leave my liege alone for five minutes,” Woz chuckled. “Besides, I’m curious about the new kid. Which one is he? The blonde, with the monkey tail?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“He’s not here, sadly,” Natsumi said. “Which is weird, given how he’s getting into trouble all of the time.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Ah, well, someone’s got to pull these kids out of trouble and in light of one Rider not being here, another should suffice,” Woz said, pulling out a strange watch and pressing down on it. “Besides, it takes one to deal with one.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>With that, he leaped down into the fray. Lobbing a fireball at Roman, he then transformed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Henshin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“Action! Touei! Future Time! Sugoi! Jidai! Mirai! Kamen Rider Woz! Woz!" </em>
  </b>
  <span>his driver proclaimed, sounding almost like a movie director. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kamen Rider Woz’s armor gleamed in the moonlight, a spear shining equally as bright as he charged forward with the weapon at the ready....</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not even a short while later, Roman found himself stumbling into the hideout battered and bruised. He was even bleeding in some places.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn… him…”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“So I assume you’re a certain Beacon guardian but in yet another new armor?” Roman asked, his blade at the ready. “Whatever, even with a new lick of paint you still can’t save your teammates.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m not him,” Woz said, switching his weapon to a scythe mode and spinning it above his head as he charged forwards. Roman lurched back, dodging the wild swing before leaping above another strike. The red rider charged up his weapon as he came back down into another slash. “Though I will admit I do show an interest in getting to know the new Decade.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Woz stepped backwards, avoiding the slash and catching a flaming arc of energy sent rocketing towards him. Holding the burning attack back with his blade, he cut through it and scored a powerful green energy-infused slash with his weapon. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Roman staggered, already exhausted from keeping up with Blake, Weiss and Sun. Woz tossed his weapon, letting it spin through the air like a boomerang. Roman rolled to the left, letting the scythe lodge itself in a nearby container.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re already starting to bore me, Torchwood was it?” Woz questioned even as a soaring falcon raced towards him. Leaping above it, he pried his weapon out of the container metal. Swinging it, he easily destroyed his flying attacker. “In any event, you’ve overstayed your welcome. I imagine the local police are already on their way, there’s been a lot of noise. Little birdy isn’t quite ready to leave the nest and join the ranks of the Kamen Riders. Fly away now, Torchwood.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Torchwick!” Roman shouted, leaping forwards into a Rider Kick as energy swirled and gathered around his boot.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Before he could crash into Woz, a blast sent him spiraling into the earth ripping up concrete. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Ah, young Miss Rose,” Woz said, ignoring Ruby’s apparent shock at the armored warrior knowing her name. “I’m one of Professor Natsumi’s friends, I knew her husband. But enough of that, care to help me deal with a certain upstart?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ruby nodded, firing a blast from her rifle that propelled Woz forwards into a Rider Kick.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“Beyond the Time! Time Explosion!” </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>Woz’s driver proclaimed as time ticked away behind Roman.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Your time’s up.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And fireballs ripped through containers…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman staggered to a chair, almost immediately collapsing down into it. All the while he was laughing. “Summer… your daughter… I see potential in her, she’s almost as powerful as you. I can’t wait to see where Little Red goes next.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next morning...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, just listen to me Pyrrha. Okay, just listen, mhmm?” Nora babbled excitedly. “Do you want to be lonely redhead girl for the rest of your life or do you want to be out and slaying… queen? Like, this is too pretty of a face to keep buried in books all of the time.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I like books.” Pyrrha tried to argue but Nora had picked up too much steam and this train wouldn't stop a-rollin’.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever, yes honey, I know you do but you can’t spend your whole life with your nose tucked in one. You with me?” Nora babbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… I dunno, Nora, it’s just…” Pyrrha started. “It’s just after so much time in the limelight I want a bit of peace and quiet.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“So we won’t shove you into any clubs, all I’m just saying P-Money is that you need to loosen up and have some fun,” Nora said. “You dig?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I guess so…”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>At this Nora beamed and held up two dresses in front of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now I gotta ask your opinion on something super important okay?” Nora went on. “Red, or black?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Qrow had gone for an early morning stroll before classes started. The mists were starting to clear and rise up from the grounds. And as the fog lifted, he found himself walking a much longer distance than normal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s like the grounds suddenly got much bigger…” the alcoholic muttered, thinking himself too sober to deal with this early morning weirdness. “...oh well, it’s five-o-clock somewhere right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He heard shouting coming from somewhere nearby, and all of his senses immediately went into high alert. Given the recent incursions, it didn’t hurt to be too careful and so breaking into a sprint he ran off to follow the shouts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shifting into his bird form, Qrow hid amongst the trees as his namesake. And then he saw them. There were two armored warriors fighting amongst the timberlands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One was as orange as well… an orange, resembling one of the Mistralian warriors of old and wielding a strange sword that looked like a fruit slice. The other warrior, somewhat resembling a bat, was as white as snow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their blades locked, grinding against each other in a shower of sparks. Then the fruit-based warrior leaped away and shifted appearances.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“...what the hell kind of Semblance is this?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He now looked like a character from an old arcade game, the transformation announcement apparently even realizing this. </span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“Kamen Ride: Ex-Aid! Mighty jump! Mighty kick! Mighty Mighty Action X!”</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>Leaping around on chocolate blocks that had apparently ‘spawned’ with the transformation, the warrior came down welding a playful-looking mallet bringing it atop his(?) opponent’s head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Qrow was shocked to see Professor Hikari appear as the armor fell away. And he was even more shocked to see Jaune under the second warrior’s armor jumping around excitedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I cleared that stage with no continues!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Yes, you’re getting better and I’m thinking I’m beginning to see your fighting style,” Professor Hikari mused. “Now get to class, I would not have to be the one to give you detention after you did so well today!”</span>
  <span></span><br/>
<span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Qrow’s eyes narrowed. So </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was her game. But where did blondie get so powerful? Making up his mind, Qrow flew off. He had to tell Ozpin, maybe he’d know what was going on...</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Date Night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I swear, I'm not trying to make these chapters so long! I promise!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Slow clapping, deliberately mocking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you wanted to put out results, and you did just that…” Cinder looked at Roman and Neo, the two of which were still trying to get over the fact that they had been beaten down by a bunch of Huntresses and Huntsmen in training. Roman groaned in pain, still sore. “You’ve proven that it’s no good to rely on random, unimportant, blowhard street thieves to get the job done.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, I don’t know if you noticed but I was handling things quite well until that Rider showed up,” Roman pointed out, his Slashriser resting off to the side. “I had those kids on the backfoot!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The backfoot doesn’t matter, Roman Torchwick. What matters is how the whole thing ends. And it ended poorly for you, as your White Fang mercenaries were all beaten to an inch of their lives, the delivery was scuppered, and worst of all, this little display of heroism is going to boost the morale in this backwater town,” Cinder chided. “If her attack on this city fails, so help me…!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She started to ignite; flames and embers spitting off of her body as she glared into Roman’s eyes with unbridled fury.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Her attack?” Roman questioned raising an eyebrow before his eyes narrowed. “I think it’s about time you let us in on the full story. I’ve been your errand boy for weeks now, and yet mum’s still the word about what this is all for!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s on a need-to-know basis, Roman. And as far as I can see, you don’t need to know,” Cinder said, looking him dead in the eye. “Especially not after tonight’s display. Those White Fang members? They’re in custody now. They’ll talk.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It. Was. A. Bad. Hand. Alright? I get it. We had the shit kicked out of us. You can’t just go blaming ME for everything that those Kamen Rider dipshits get up to!” Roman bit back, grabbing the Slashriser and swinging it through the air. “You wanna prove that I’m really incompetent, why don’t YOU go out there and fight those girls? Don’t come crying to me when Kamen Rider Decade and all of his or her friends kick your teeth in as well…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cinder grinned. “Now there’s an idea…”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>She ripped the Slashrider from his hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Curious little device isn’t it? I’m almost curious about where you got it, but then again never look a gift horse in the mouth I suppose,” Cinder shrugged, before studying it briefly. She held the driver to her waist, the belt wrapping around her of its own accord. “Unfortunately, you tried to burn bright but your flame got snuffed out. Remember, there’s only one of us allowed to burn the old world to ashes around here…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And it’s supposedly you? With your fire-pun for a name?” Roman mocked. “If you saw half of the stuff that Kamen Rider Decade could do, I wouldn’t be so smug right about now ‘Lady’ Cinder.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s but a child,” Cinder replied. “I’ve talked to Mercury, we’re both in agreement he has to be a student from Beacon. Someone thinking he can play the hero. How naive of him, brave but foolishly naive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If he’s that naive, then why does he always win? Hardly naivete if he’s proven that he can win and push us back…” Neo held up one of her signs, speaking before Torchwick got the chance to reply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, considering he’s up against you two…” Cinder deadpanned. “I’ll let you two lick your wounds, I have things to take care of. Loose ends to clean up.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>With that she walked off, and was soon joined by Adam.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“I heard Blake was in town,” the bull man licked his lips, a thinly veiled lust in his tone. “That she helped put a stop to last night’s raid.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Indeed she did, Adam,” Cinder looked at Adam, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. “She betrayed you and your people, siding with these ingrates. And now, she attempts to stop us from bringing Beacon and the world to its knees.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She wrapped her arms around his shoulders seductively. “How does it make you feel, might I ask?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t try that crap with me, I’d never mate with a disgusting human anyways,” Adam growled. “I only have eyes for one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah yes, your little kitty cat. Maybe you should buy her a bell? Put a leash on her?” Cinder said with a mocking smirk. “Maybe it’d keep you from losing her. You do need to keep track of your pets after all…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With those words alone, Adam Taurus drew his new katana, the tip of the blade mere inches away from cutting up her nose. To her credit, Cinder barely flinched, gently lowering the blade with her finger.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t test me Adam, I know you know who you really work for,” Cinder went on. “Don’t worry, I’m sure when you show her how powerful you truly are, Blake will come </span>
  <em>
    <span>begging </span>
  </em>
  <span>back to you. Crawling on her very hands and knees. I’d advise you to say no, she’s not worth it.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Blake is-”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Perfection?” Cinder replied. “I’m sure she’s not all that great. She threw her lot in with us </span>
  <em>
    <span>humans </span>
  </em>
  <span>after all…”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Hold your tongue,” Adam snarled, practically shaking with rage. “Before I am forced to cut it out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You already went up against one Rider and had your sword shattered,” Cinder replied, calm as ever. “Don’t force me to make history repeat.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mercury and Emerald could only watch from the shadows.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oooooh, trouble amongst the in-laws?” Mercury chuckled. “And I’d just gotten used to my new parents, I hope neither of them files for a divorce!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>His partner glared at him, looking like she was about to smack him upside the head. “Shut up, stop being stupid. Stupid.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Every day just keeps on getting more interesting,” Mercury noted, unable to tear his eyes away from the argument. “I wonder what this is all leading to~? Who’s going to snap first? Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen! Talk about trouble in paradise…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Emerald could only sigh.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What a strange world this is…” A man with sleek, black hair and a dragon-fang necklace muttered to himself as he wandered through the streets of Beacon. He examined the town, looking for anyone that would have been a worthy challenge. “This city… It’s wide open and yet, not many people line its streets.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t know how he got here, but then again he didn’t really care. His eyes then caught a glimpse of Beacon Academy off in the distance. “Oh? That just might be the ticket.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A smirk crossed his face and he rushed off toward it, ready to pick a fight with the first person that crossed his eyes. Moments before he even arrived at the courtyard, however, he bumped into Jaune. Falling backwards, both landed on their rears.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“H-hey! Watch where you’re going!” Jaune barked as he looked at the mysterious stranger. As he stood back up, he noticed something different about this guy. “Where do you even come from, anyway? Vacuo? Mistral? ...Atlas? Are you here for the festival?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Festival? What do you mean?” Graphite gave Jaune a leery look, barely even noticing the festival fliers just beyond him. “This is the first time I’ve even been to this city. Though, now that you mention it, what kind of players does this festival have?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“P-Players?” Jaune paused, looking somewhat confused. “...like video gamers?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Exactly!” Graphite clicked his finger and gave a grin. “Are there any strong ones there? Or is it all just noobs?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“W-Well, I… Uh fancy myself good at Cards Against Remnant if that’s what you’re asking for,” Jaune stammered, feeling awkward as ever. “And I’m pretty sure the arcade in Vale has a few good players.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cards… Against… Remnant?” Graphite just blinked, stunned by what Jaune had just said. Shaking his head to the side, he recomposed himself. “Sorry. Allow me to introduce myself. Name’s Graphite. I’m what they call a fighting game legend. I was wondering if there were any gamers like that out here in this city.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, I like to think I’m great at Mortal Grimmbat and the Semblance Calibur series if those are your jams,” Jaune shrugged. “But you never did say where you were from, and I’m curious actually. Seriously, I am. You from Mistral? You look like you’re from Mistral.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, believe me, kid. If I told you where I was from, you would never believe me,” Graphite chuckled. “In any event, I’m curious about this festival you’re talking about. I’m always up for a good scrap, maybe I’ll sign up. Maybe there’s some strong fighters here!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With that, he walked off humming a song under his breath. EXCITE, actually, if you listened closely. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What a strange guy…” Jaune thought to himself as he watched the man walk off. “...oh, with my luck I’ll probably be fighting him in the Vytal Tournament won’t I?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Honestly, Jaune was worried about the upcoming festival rapidly approaching. It was going to be hard to keep his powers under wraps when it arrived. All four kingdoms were watching, all eyes were on Vale.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had to get stronger, just to make sure he didn’t have to rely on Decade’s powers to carry him through this whole thing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hopefully, nothing went wrong between then and now…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Knock on wood right?” Jaune uttered to himself, knocking on a tree. “...wow, Nora’s right. I do need a night on the town. Maybe it’ll clear my head.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sun was beginning to set, red and orange light filtering in through his dorm window and Jaune found himself getting into an ill-fitting suit and tie. Hand me downs from his sisters.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I dunno, does it look right to you?” he asked, looking to his scroll where onscreen was his oldest sister. “Something doesn’t feel right to me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ve always been like that, Jaune. Don’t worry about it,” Saphron chuckled, looking into Jaune’s eyes. “Y’know, your sisters and I have all been talking about you ever since you left for Beacon. We’re so proud that you got accepted, by the way. All of us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Even Journee?” Jaune rubbed the back of his head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Especially Journee! She never thought you’d amount to anything, but you certainly proved her wrong, didn’t you?” Saphron clasped her hands together. “Oh, speaking of which, check your mail the next time you get a chance, will ya? Papa left you a little present, a sorta of ‘congratulations’ gift for getting into Beacon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I will!” Jaune nodded, enjoying this rare moment of peace away from his team and with his family. It reminded him of why he came here, who he was defending as a Huntsman and as a Rider.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Well, don’t you look all dressed up and ready to go?” another voice asked, another blond leaning into frame. Jayleen, joined by her twin Juniper. “Where are you off to in such a hurry, dressed so spiffy?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Night on the town.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Like a date?” Jayleen asked, eyes sparkling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well-”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Before he could get a chance to finish, Jayleen interrupted him by letting out a cry to her siblings. “Jaune’s got a date~!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“It’s not a date!” Jaune tried to refute, for all the good that did as Jenna, Justice, Julie, and Journee all came rushing over like sharks to a kill. There was blood in the water, and they could smell it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I think it is~...” Justice sniggered to herself as Jenna leaned over her shoulder, all of the sisters basically piling together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, who’s the lucky girl, Jauney-wauney?” Jenna asked, giggling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not a date,” Jaune repeated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Saying that just means that it is!” Justice chuckled, looking at Jaune with a smile. “Don’t deny it, Jaune. You’ve got a lover, and that’s wonderful!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, uh, it’s not quite like that. I mean there’s someone I *want* to ask out on a date but whenever I think about it, I freeze up and get all weird about it,” Jaune said. “Maybe… Maybe I just don’t want to ruin what we have, y’know? Make things all awkward.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Awkward?” The girls all chimed in together, then just laughed again. “Typical Jaune…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I feel ganged up on…” the blonde in question muttered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then, as if fate was being extra cruel on Jaune at that moment in time, there was Pyrrha, coming down the road, ready to meet him. He sweatdropped even more. It was bad enough that his sisters were here, but for her to see him with all of them together? It was enough to embarrass anyone, let alone Jaune.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oooooh, she’s pretty. Is that your teammate?” Justice asked. “I swear she looks so familiar, but where…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, is that the girl who’s on Pumpkin Pete’s?” Jenna piped up and Julie gasped in exclamation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is!” she cried before letting out a call. “Hey mom, dad! Jaune knows the girl on Pumpkin Pete’s~!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune groaned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jaune?” Pyrrha asked, noticing all of the girls on the screen. “What’s going on here? Who are these girls?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pyrrha, meet my family,” Jaune ran a hand through his hair as his parents appeared on screen. “My family, meet Pyrrha.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oooooh, is she your girlfriend?” his mother, Alexandria Arc asked with her hair blonder than anyone else. It was practically golden as if kissed by the sun.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, mom, she’s just a friend,” Jaune’s face went so red, that he almost qualified as a tomato. This was literally the worst moment of his entire life. He was halfway to burying his face in his hands. “She’s my teammate.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They seem nice,” Pyrrha observed, sweetly. “I can see the relation.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m proud that my son’s got a friend, he was so shy when he was a kid,” Alexandra replied. “He barely talked to anyone, you know.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Mooooooooom…” Jaune groaned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pyrrha just chuckled, wrapping her arm around Jaune’s shoulders. “C’mon. Let’s just get ready. Ruby and Weiss are waiting on us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Little did they know that Ruby and Weiss, informed on the plan and bribed by Nora were nowhere to be found tonight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Graphite was eyeing up everyone that he could meet, trying to see if he could tell whether or not they were a gamer. So far, nobody was sticking out. No-one gave him that buzz of adrenaline. Nobody in this world was a match for his power. And that was the thing that he hated most of all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The people of this city… Just what do they hope to protect?” He asked to himself as he trudged through the cobblestone streets. “I could wipe them all out with a single swing and it wouldn’t even get me a level up. What a waste.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was just so </span>
  <em>
    <span>dull. </span>
  </em>
  <span>There wasn’t even a good challenge to be found.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe I should just destroy stuff, give into my baser instincts. Maybe someone will come running,” Graphite licked his lips. “Maybe they’ll provide me with a challenge. Apparently, that school trains monster hunters. Maybe one of them will come after me eh?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Shifting into his monster form, the Bugster raised his sword. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, come on then! Just show me how leveled you truly are!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Meanwhile, unaware of what was going down, Pyrrha and Jaune stode into Vale.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You look nice,” Jaune complimented as they got off the bus. His teammate was wearing a slinky red dress that complimented her form very well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really? I tried to go for something casual. Nothing too fancy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s nice, us finally getting together like this,” Jaune, apparently not noticing how his words could be taken as Pyrrha flushed as red as her dress and let out a little ‘eep’. “Like us as a team, outside of class and stuff. Just having a bit of fun, y’know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, fun...” Pyrrha murmured somewhat dejectedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune just gave a light chuckle. To be frank, any kind of optimism he had for this date had gone up in smoke with his sisters getting involved. Still, if he could at least make Pyrrha smile, then that’d be worth the trip. And worth the destruction of his pride.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your family seems nice,” the redhead went on. “Like it’s clear that they love you very much.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah they do, I just wish that they…” Jaune sighed. “That they’d stop embarrassing me so much.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“I’m an only child, so I wouldn’t know,” his teammate replied. “I honestly wish I had siblings. I mean I had my moms of course but growing up I was very… I was just very lonely. Like I wish I had people ‘shipping’ me with someone I lo… I like.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>She cursed herself for her near slipup.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, you okay?” Jaune reached on instinct, grasping her hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” Pyrrha said, obviously not. “It’s just… I was remembering, that’s all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Remembering?” Jaune asked. “Apologies if this sounds like a stupid question and I know it probably is, but didn’t you have friends growing up?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Jaune, remembering,” she replied, somewhat irritably though she quickly downed that irritation. “It was… hard for me to make friends, not when I was such a star. Like people wanted to be ‘with’ me, not actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>with </span>
  </em>
  <span>me.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“I’m... sorry.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Don’t be,” Pyrrha smiled sadly. “There’s nothing you could have done about it. I’m happy your team took me in. Saw past my fame.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Glad to help,” Jaune said, gently fist-bumping her. Pyrrha chuckled, before grinning impishly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“By the way, your </span>
  <em>
    <span>whole </span>
  </em>
  <span>family only knows me for being on the box of Pumpkin Pete’s?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“I… may or may not have shut up about how good the cereal was,” Jaune laughed, running a hand through his hair again. “But it was good cereal!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, it’s good to be known for something other than being the star of my school I suppose,” the redhead giggled. “I… I lied earlier actually, I did have some actual friends before meeting you. I… I guess they couldn’t handle the pressure of being around me. Or maybe we just grew apart, as friends do.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“We won’t grow apart,” Jaune reassured, grasping her hand tighter as they walked through the streets. He tried to ignore the stares, and coos of how cute they were. “We’re a team.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pyrrha could only just stare at Jaune, awestruck by his comment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re… a team?” She blinked, then ended up smiling, grasping back at Jaune’s hand. She gave him a nod and a smile. “You’re right, Jaune. We </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> a team. One of the best teams in Beacon, with you leading the charge.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Really, she was only saying that because she had been wanting a true friend for the longest time, Jaune reasoned And to see that in him filled her life with hope. Both for herself, and for the future ahead of her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, don’t give me all the credit,” Jaune replied, trying to ignore the burning in his cheeks. “You’re kinda a badass yourself. You encouraged me to pick myself up off the ground and embrace being Decade back in the forest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Awww, you’re being too modest,” Pyrrha said as they arrived in one of Vale’s highest-rated restaurants. “I only helped bring forth what was already there.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Hey, where’s Ruby and Weiss?” Jaune asked, looking around. “Didn’t they say that they’d meet us here?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Pyrrha scanned the room, before groaning as she realized what was happening. “I don’t believe it…”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“What?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“They set us up,” she explained. “Like on a date.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” Jaune said before it hit him. “Ohhhhhhhh…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“When I get my hands on them…” Pyrrha uttered to herself cursing Nora under her breath. She then took a deep breath, calming herself. “It’s okay, you can work with this. It’s just a date with Jaune, the boy you like. You got this.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“You okay?” Jaune asked. “You sound like you’re mumbling to yourself back there.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Pyrrha let out a little squeak. “No no no, I’m good. I’m good, it’s nothing!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I suppose we should get to our table then…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pyrrha nodded, and led Jaune to a table that had been so obviously reserved for them judging by the red and gold flowers on it. It had also been very finely laid out, with a pair of white napkin swans; one by each chair. A pair of champagne flutes had already been laid out for the two and the cutlery looked like it should have belonged in a castle rather than a restaurant. It seemed like the two had been spared no expense when it came to this date.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nicest place I’ve ever been…” Jaune mused to himself. “My family would never have been able to afford this.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Yeah, keyword </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>family,” Pyrrha pointed out. “Weiss’ family on the other hand?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good point,” Jaune said, checking the menu. “Uh… okay, uh wow. I don;t recognize anything on here. Like when I go to restaurants I usually order stuff I recognize, even if it’s only off the kids’ menu.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pyrrha giggled, a wonderful musical sound that he wouldn’t mind hearing more of. While she wasn’t Ruby, she was nice in her own way. Incredibly kind and supportive.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, uh… what are you going to get off of the menu, Pyrrha?” Jaune asked, looking over at her and the backside of her menu.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pyrrha smiled before calling for her order. As they waited for their food, the two continued to talk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, you excited for the Vytal Vesti… sorry, the Vytal Festival?” Jaune asked. “I’m a mix of nervous and excited. Nervouscited? Like, the whole world will be watching, all four kingdoms. It’s uh… talk about the pressure right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s… well, yeah it’s certainly different. There hasn’t been something like this in well over a decade,” Pyrrha nodded. “I will admit it is… horribly nerve-wracking. As you said, the whole world is watching. I would be remiss not to admit I’m under a lot of pressure to show myself as my best.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, don’t worry, I’ll be right there by your side,” Jaune said. “Trust me, whatever happens we face it together. I’m just concerned that I may let something slip, show off the cards in my hand if you catch my drift.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, uh, I know what you mean. You can’t hide who you are forever though,” Pyrrha noted. “Like someday soon, someone will find out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, it’s just… do they really need to know?” Jaune asked. “It’s my secret to tell. To hide. I guess you’re right though, we’ll see which way the cards fall.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you think that things would have turned out differently if you weren’t Decade?” Pyrrha lowered her voice to practically whisper at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe we might not have met, you know. That sort of thing,” Pyrrha said. “Maybe our team would be different. You may not have even come to Beacon if you didn’t want to learn how your powers worked.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I dunno, I might have come to Beacon anyways,” Jaune said. “My family… we’ve always done great things, one of my ancestors was once the personal servant to the King of Vale. He advised him, a ruler from the shadows. I guess I wanted to live up to his legacy. Prove my family name isn’t just for show, y’know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So we’ve both got things to prove,” Pyrrha realized. “You want to prove your family name is still as glorious as in the days of old and me? I just want to prove to the world that I’m more than </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>Argus’ Invincible Girl.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune laughed. “No pressure right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, uh… like whoof. Oh well, good thing about the whole world watching? When we prove ourselves, everyone will see it.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Or they’ll watch us crash and burn…” Jaune mumbled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t be like that,” Pyrrha scolded. “I believe in you! You’ve got what it takes to be amongst the best of the best. A true Huntsman!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If it were only that…” Jaune admitted. “Tsukasa, in his dying breath, made me the next Decade. He said I had what it takes. I don’t want to screw up royally, and prove him wrong.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Graphite, on the other hand, was tearing through everything in his sight. Stalls, streetlights, buildings, even the occasional car that had come riding down the road. Everything when up in flames when his sword crackled lightning at it, and Graphite just trudged through the destruction, waiting for a fighter to emerge and challenge him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Come on! Fight me!” Graphite slammed his hands against his pectorals a few times, in a taunting fashion. “Is nobody going to save this city from me and my power?!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stomped the ground ferociously, causing a small crater to form beneath his talon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then came a battle cry, Ruby leaping down from atop a building with Crescent Rose in hand. Gripping her scythe tightly, she swung it around behind her back and pointed at him. “I don’t know who you are, but if you want someone to stop you, I’m your gal!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Looks like this city’s not entirely out of heroes after all.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Graphite raised his hand and a ball of energy manifested in it; one that grew until he hurled it out at Ruby, hoping to take her out from a distance. When he saw her slice it in half with Crescent Rose and burst out from the flames of the following explosion, he swung his polearm to meet her scythe; both weapons clashing against each other, sending sparks flying. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on, then! Show me a good time, new player!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Player?” Ruby questioned, twisting her scythe in an attempt to disarm him. “Like a video game?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before she got her answer, Graphite teleported behind her and swung his weapon downward. She just quickly rolled out of the way as he swung and thrashed around with said polearm, forcing her to counter with Crescent Rose. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This went on and on, until at last, Graphite teleported away as Ruby tried a downward slash. When he reappeared, he fired off another energy ball from her flank, and it wasn’t until it was a few inches away from her that Ruby noticed, and the energy ball exploded and knocked her away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“...okay, so you’ve got a few tricks,” Ruby said shoving her blade into the ground to stop herself. “I admit, you’ve got a few challenging moves but you still haven’t told me who you are. What are you, a new type of Grimm?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Graphite was swinging his blade, gathering energy obviously readying himself for a powerful attack. The broccoli green monster grinned at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not a Grimm, whatever those are. I’m just your opponent, now give me a good game. Fulfill your purpose as a player in this game that you call ‘life’ for me!” he roared before launching his attack. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Gekido Ryūga!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Graphite drew an ‘X’ with his polearm; one that he sent hurtling towards Ruby. She switched Crescent Rose to its sniper form and pointed the barrel at the flying X, hoping to destroy it from a distance. Though she pulled the trigger and it exploded, the resulting aftershocks of energy knocked her back and dislodged Crescent Rose from her hands; a weapon that Graphite quickly seized and threw against the side of her head, with his weapon piercing the ground by her other side.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Game over, little miss.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think not!” Weiss called out, a spectral boarbatusk grabbing the weapon out of the air. It ran up to Ruby, handing it to her. “You challenge my friend, you challenge me.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Oh, some two on one? Hardly fair, but I’m always up for some co-op,” Graphite grinned even as Weiss summoned another creature to help fight the living virus. A knight-like being formed, a fist hurtling towards the bugster. “...huh, so two different genres clashing together? How exciting!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He leaped back, avoiding the massive fist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was hoping to fight a Kamen Rider or two, but you two seem interesting enough. I’ll play your game then!” Graphite roared, launching another </span>
  <em>
    <span>Gekido Ryūga </span>
  </em>
  <span>towards the two huntresses. “Bring it on! Show me your style!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And so Weiss and Ruby did, locking blades with Graphite’s weapon after they’d dodged his attack.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Together they kicked him in the chest, making him stagger. Weiss sent a glyph to the sole of her boot, launching her forwards with her sword aimed like a spear. Stabbing Graphite clean through, the monster lurched in pain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby was firing Crescent Rose, the shots deflected by a whirling blade of bone as the girl raced around the monster hoping to punch through his defenses. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Weiss’ Arma Gigas drew back its fist and launched it at the bugster once again. Graphite leaped forwards, charging up an attack and slashing clean through the spectral grimm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As it vanished into snowy flurries, Graphite landed in the street with his blade resting on his shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love some free EXP, you two really need to try harder if you want to beat this boss,” Graphite advised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Boss? What are you, a video game character?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Basically!” Graphite admitted before bowing. “Graphite, boss of Drago Knight Hunter Z at your service!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Drago Knight Hunt… What?” Weiss asked. “What is that, like Grimm Hunter World?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“If it is, I know how to beat him,” Ruby said. “He’s basically a Rathalos-type Wyvern. We just got to face him as a team, whittle down his health! Hit him with thunder and ice, Weiss!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby loaded some lightning dust into Crescent Rose’s chamber, while Weiss slammed the tip of her sword into the street. Icy spikes raced towards Graphite, encasing him in cold frost. Ruby meanwhile swung her scythe wide, the blade crackling with dancing electricity.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Graphite’s cold prison shattered, and he was sent flying. Panting and sweating hard, he stood up with a grin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why’s he smiling?” Ruby asked worriedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because I just got enough EXP to level up!” the monster laughed, his scales darkening and now resembling stone. He began charging up an even more powerful move, his sword crackling with golden sparks. Ruby and Weiss, upon instinct, took a few steps back. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Dododo Kokuryū-ken!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This time, Graphite swung his polearm twice, with each swing sending out an X slice. Both of which were seeping yellow and black lightning as they hurtled towards their targets; one for Ruby, and one for Weiss…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Graphite laughed all the while.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I still don’t understand how you can pronounce all these names for food, Pyrrha…” Jaune seemed flabbergasted at the menu items. “I mean… Chateau...brian? Chat-ew-brieand?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Chateaubriand, Jaune,” Pyrrha chuckled at Jaune’s cute attempts at trying to guess the name. “And I think you’d like it. It’s basically a super-luxurious and filling version of steak. If you’re a meat lover, it’s like the Nirvana of meats. Especially with all of the sauces and add-ons you get with this particular Chateaubriand.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It did look </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>appetizing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then, the curtains on the nearby stage drew themselves back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ooooh, look Jaune! Dinner and a show!” Pyrrha chirped merrily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And walking on stage was Yang, Jaune suddenly getting a sinking feeling about what </span>
  <em>
    <span>kind </span>
  </em>
  <span>of show they were in for.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>However, she wasn’t alone and Jaune nearly blanched upon seeing the face she was with. Aruto Hiden, apparently the first Rider of the Reiwa Era. Natsumi had seen it fit to educate him on every Rider she’d met and although his head was often left swimming, he tried to remember them as best as he could.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Question was, what was he doing here?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I… I didn’t summon him… Did I?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jaune questioned, remembering his powers. What’s worse, if he could summon a Rider by accident who else could he summon?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jaune, you alright?” Pyrrha asked, concerned noticing his expression.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it’s nothing,” Jaune answered, trying to force that nervous feeling down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, yeah, anyways,” Yang started, the crowd at rapt attention. “I was feeling a bit sickly earlier today. I mean, I wouldn’t go so fire as to want to lay down, but I’m feeling a bit hot and bothered y’know? Then I realized I should share my pain with y’all. Like it’ll be my claim to flame!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was an equally matched collection of groans and laughter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whew, nice weather we’re having isn’t it? I don’t know why Yang is so sick, it’s nearly close to summer after all!” Aruto joined in, bouncing off his partner’s puns. “Bestill my heating heart, it’s like summer of us are marching to the beat of a different drummer. A different summer perhaps?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>More groans, more laughter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, I know, they need work. But they’re all my own. That’s how you know it’s Aruto!” the first of the Reiwa era said, owning his bad jokes. “I mean, we’re all just trying make ends heat am I right?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>He paused for a moment. “...sorry, usually I have someone near to explain the jokes. It’s a bit of a change.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, we don’t want to set the world on fire here, but we can’t just keep </span>
  <em>
    <span>dragon </span>
  </em>
  <span>our feet and holding off on these jokes!” Yang added ignoring the boos. “I mean, I’ve been sitting on some of these for years! My sister would be horrified I know, but it’s like rapping. It’s spitting fire!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before she could say anything else, a very different type of dragon crashed through the window.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, at least it’s not throwing fruit!” Yang said before realizing she should probably help everyone get out of there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“...well, it was nice while it lasted right?” Pyrrha sighed. Jaune was actually thankful he was getting a reprieve from the bad puns.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes widened as he saw Pyrrha rip away part of her dress, and she cracked her knuckles. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGtywvNCZ08">
    <span>“Ah, that’s better,”</span>
  </a>
  <span> the redhead smiled as she pulled Miló and Akoúo̱ out of her purse and extended them to their full size.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You keep your weapons in your purse?” Jaune asked, stunned as Graphite advanced throwing tables out of the way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A girl’s got to be prepared,” Pyrrha said, changing her spear to it’s sword form and readying for battle. “What, you don’t carry your weapons around with you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fair point,” Jaune said, throwing on his belt. Graphite’s eyes seemed to light up at the sight. “Henshin.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Kamen Ride: Decade!”</b>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, at last! An actual challenge! A Rider!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Oh, I’m just passing through,” Jaune said as the silhouettes converged on him, forming his armor. “Remember that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His sword locked with Graphite’s own twin blades, with Pyrrha’s own joining it. Together, they kicked the dragon-styled bugster into some tables.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s take this elsewhere,” Jaune said, slipping a card into his driver.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Attack Ride: Game World!”</b>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The restaurant faded away and was replaced by a forest, a peaceful stream running through it. However, that serenity was soon disturbed by the sounds of battle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune leaped atop a chocolate block, shooting away at Graphite as Pyrrha slashed into his hide with her sword.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She flipped away, before spinning and tossing her shield in a manner so perfect that Captain America would have been proud. It smashed into Graphite, before hitting a tree and rebounding to hit him again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It flew back towards Pyrrha, only for her to backflip over the flying disk. It smashed into a tree, then hit Graphite again before flying back into Pyrrha’s grip. With a roar, the bugster cried out: </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Dododo Kokuryū-ken!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lightning-infused slashes ripped through the air towards Pyrrha before an arrow ripped through Graphite’s hide. Standing atop another chocolate block was Jaune as Kuuga in Pegasus form.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Green changed to white and gold as another slash rocketed towards him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Form Ride: Den-O Wing!”</b>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Advent, to the top…” Jaune said, not entirely sure why as he ripped into the beast’s side with twin hatchets. Again and again, the strikes came in a flurry of white feathers before Graphite spun his weapon over his head, locking blades with Jaune’s weapons in a shower of sparks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune leaped away, as his date fired several shots into the beast’s hide with her hunting rifle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You ruined my date!” Pyrrha shouted, her teammate going white with shock at the term. Was that what it was?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Impressive…” Graphite complemented. “Your levels must be pretty high!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“What does he think this is?” Pyrrha said, bracing herself against another slash with Akoúo̱. “Some type of video game?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Given what he resembles…?” Jaune pondered, knowing he alone was the reason why this monster was here. His mess, so he had to clean it up. “It’s a safe bet. Wasn’t expecting to play Grimm Hunter Z today!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Awwww, but I like co-op play. Maybe we could join up for a hunt later?” Pyrrha asked, surprising her date with just how dorky she was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You play?” he gaped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I… used to, I admit I may be out of practice. It’s been a bit,” Pyrrha acknowledged, changing Miló to its spear form. Throwing it, she impaled Graphite through the shoulder and game data floated away in the breeze. “I was, uh, forced to downplay some of my nerdy tendencies while on tour.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“A true crime!” Graphite snarled, wrenching the weapon out and tossing it aside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Agreed!” Jaune agreed, not sure </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>he was agreeing with the monster. “Though we’re up to World now, actually.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Changing forms again, to the familiarity of Kiva, he brought down the Dogga Hammer as a series of seismic tremors rushed towards Graphite. The monster leaped over the now yawning chasm and spun his weapon up into a: </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Dododo Kokuryū-ken!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>More bolts of lightning raced towards Pyrrha. Jaune knew he had to act fast, changing into Blade and throwing himself in front of her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Kamen Ride: Blade!”</b>
    <b>
      <br/>
    </b>
    <b>
      <br/>
    </b>
    <b>“Attack Ride: Metal!”</b>
  </span>
  <b>
    <br/>
  </b>
  <b>
    <br/>
  </b>
  <span>The attack shattered on impact against his armored metallic skin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A true knight in shining armor!” Graphite observed and complimented.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, and you know what we do to dragons?” Jaune asked, slipping another card into his driver. “We slay them!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Form Ride: Agito Flame!”</b>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gold and crimson covered him, he and Pyrrha going for their swords with both bringing them down in vertical slashes through the bugster’s hide.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They pulled their swords away before charging forth and running the monster through.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Spinning, it seemed Graphite saw the attack coming as he spun as well to meet their blades.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Both students drew back their fists and punched him in the face with the bugster staggering backwards. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune slipped back to base form as he raised the Ride Booker in gun form. Pyrrha raised Miló shifting it back to its hunting rifle form.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>“Final Attack Ride: B-B-B-Blast!”</b>
    <b>
      <br/>
    </b>
  </span>
  <b>
    <br/>
  </b>
  <span>And together they riddled his hide with bullets. Graphite clutched his chest and smiled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you… for giving me such a good game.”</span>
  <span></span>
    <br/>
  
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>He fell forwards and exploded as the game world disappeared all around them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was a very battered and bruised Team JWRP that staggered into Beacon, though they were greeted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Headmaster?” Jaune asked, surprised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Welcome back, did you have a nice night Jaune?” Ozpin said, tapping his cane against the floor. “Or should I say… Decade?”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Aren't I evil?</p>
<p>Okay, so uh minor notes. I didn't overuse Build's forms for once! Though yeah, you can see Jaune's fighting style developed now. He overwhelms the monsters with his many forms, changing to another when they adapt to one.</p>
<p>Also, I debated using the Legion Phantom or Black Baron from the Gaim Gaiden films but ended up settling on Graphite given his unique status as a video game character. Everyone's such a dork that they'd know what he is and how to defeat him.</p>
<p>Plus, it helped my co-writer with a monster he remembered. Admittidly, I could have translated Graphite's attacks but they sorta lose something when in English I think...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Somewhere, the curtains to a battle have opened...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Jaune, I think you know clearly why I called you here, didn’t I?” Ozpin was the first to break the silence as he paced back and forth in front of Jaune’s eyes. “It’s about that suit of armour you wore. Not the one on your person right now. The other one. The one that you summon out of nothingness. I believe rumours on the wind called it a… Kamen Rider?”</p><p>Behind him, massive gears ticked away in nerve-wracking fashion, the sounds of clockwork threatening to drive themselves into his brain.<br/><br/>“I… yes, that’s what it’s called…” Jaune stammered.</p><p>Truth be told, Ozpin was slightly playing dumb. He knew what Kamen Riders were, given he at one point had run into one so many lifespans ago.</p><p>“Well, Jaune. Since you know more than I do, I suppose there’s no need to delay the questioning any longer. Now, I know that it must come as a shock to you, having such a secret power secluded from the rest of the world, but I’ll try and make this as easy on you as possible,” the headmaster jabbed the ground with his cane, the noise echoing all throughout the circular office. “First of all, the obvious question. How did you acquire such an otherworldly power? Nothing on Remnant that I know of could have produced such powers; not even the finest semblances and metalwork in all of Atlas combined could have made such a sentient suit like yours.”</p><p>“I… I got it from a friend,” Jaune stammered out, not keen on saying any more than that and betraying Tsukasa’s trust.</p><p>“A friend? Someone in your team or someone… outside of Beacon?” Ozpin took a few steps forward. “As far as I’m aware, nobody within the D’arc family lineage has ever received such things as a Kamen Rider outfit or its’ matching weaponry, so we can easily rule that out of the question. What other friends do you have, Jaune?”</p><p>“L-Look, why is this even important?” Jaune stammered some more. “I’m not a threat to the school, and this will just make me a better Huntsman! That’s what I’m here for right?”</p><p>“I can see that. A true threat to the school would have already tried to attack, or would have had their plans revealed by now,” Ozpin just flashed Jaune a smile. “I’ve seen your suit fighting, Jaune. You fight to uphold peace. You don’t have any personal gains to get out of it other than the safety of your fellow Huntsmen and Huntresses.”</p><p>He paused, apparently to consider how to continue. Apparently to consider what would sound best what would carry the most weight.</p><p>“However, this secret could compromise your safety and the safety of those around you should it slip out into the public. Which is why I must urge you, Jaune D’arc,” Ozpin lowered his brows and looked into Jaune’s eyes. “Stick to your Huntsman training, and learn these Kamen Rider powers on your own time. The less conspicuous you are, the easier it becomes to juggle such arduous burdens.”</p><p>“But this…” Jaune paused, his eyes wandering over to the Decadriver and the stack of cards on the Headmaster’s desk. “...those, they were entrusted to me by someone precious to me. I <em> promised </em> him something. To become the best Decade I can be. So asking me to give it up…” <br/><br/>His voice hardened.</p><p>“No, I’m sorry, but I can’t.”</p><p>“Whoever said give it up? I never mentioned such words. I simply said to conceal said powers and learn then in secret,” Ozpin’s gaze softened. “Truth be told, Jaune, these powers make you a special case. You have more power than others believe. Not only as a Huntsman, but as this so-called Kamen Rider too.”</p><p>“Huh?” Jaune asked, slightly stupidly as stunned as he was.</p><p>“After what went down last night with all those White Fang members and their ringleader, I can only assume that more attacks are coming. Which is why we need all hands on deck should such a catastrophe occur,” He put his hands on Jaune’s hands. “Can I trust in you to be our vanguard? That Kamen Rider Decade be ready to cut down anyone that tries to attack us?”</p><p>“Are you asking me to fight for Vale, for Beacon? Just them?” Jaune asked. “To fight for my kingdom? And <em> only </em> my kingdom? Because the way I understand it, a Kamen Rider is not a weapon of war. It’s not a military tool, a secret weapon for one nation to lord over the others.” <br/><br/>Indeed, he remembered the chronicles of Kamen Rider Build that Professor Hikari had given him.</p><p>“I’m not forcing you to do such a thing. It’s just that with what this Roman Torchwick has been planning, I am uncertain about Beacon’s safety,” Ozpin took a few steps back and looked out the window. “Negativity breeds and attracts Grimm. These attacks, burglaries, and White Fang incursions are not happenstance. Something big is about to happen, and all of that unrest will make the people afraid, angry, or worried. That is exactly what the Grimm want. And they will come running if these threats continue. What I’ve… no, what we’ve been seeing are only the previews. Ask yourself Jaune, do you really want to see what opening night is like?”<br/><br/>“N-No…” Jaune shook his head. “No, I don’t.”</p><p>“Then, please. Keep on training both your Kamen Rider powers and your Huntsman skills. You will need both for what is to come, should it come to pass,” Ozpin stared back at Jaune. “Speaking of which. This Roman Torchwick fellow. How does a petty thief suddenly have connections with the White Fang and its’ most elite? Is there something else about him that we should know about?”</p><p>“I’ve… I’ve been wondering the same thing myself actually,” Jaune admitted. “Like uh… I’ve been going after him to try and capture him. Me and my team. ...oh, probably shouldn’t have mentioned that right? Oh, I’m in so much trouble, I’m going to get so many detentions clapping erasers together!”</p><p>“Jaune. You are overreacting.” Ozpin swiftly cut through Jaune’s worries like a hot blade would through butter. “A Huntsman is clear of mind. They are not overburdened with doubt and worry. I will not impose such a thing on you if it was an accident. The fact that your team and only your team are aware of and are keeping your secret does contain that issue. However. That means you need to be extra careful with what is said between you and the rest of Team JWRP.” </p><p>He pushed his fingers together. “And speaking of containing issues. I know that it’s been you and your powers that have been causing these strange anomalies recently. Another recently-acquired power you’re still trying to learn, I presume?”</p><p>“I… That’s been me, hasn’t it?” Jaune sighed, hanging his head and not daring to meet his Headmaster’s eyes. “...I had suspicions after last night but… But I didn’t want them to be true. Tell me, how bad has it been?”</p><p>“Well, on a scale of mild disturbance to extinction-level event, it is rather alarming,” Ozpin’s cane hit the ground again. Probably a nervous habit of his. “These fractures have caused all kinds of faces to come into this world; people who were not born on Remnant. Graphite, for one. He claims to have come from a video game; one that Remnant has never seen the likes of.”<br/><br/>“I know, we’ve…” Jaune paused, not sure how to elaborate. “Met.” <br/><br/>“And yet, his power is frightening. He also has the power to transform his body into a draconic form. Something that no human, Faunus, or machine on Remnant has ever been able to perform before,” Ozpin took a big, weary sigh. “If she ever gets a hold on him, then…” </p><p>He had to stop himself before he gave anything away. Before he said too much. “Never mind. I’ve said too much. Anything more and I would be the one compromising you and your friends’ safety.”</p><p>“Don’t worry,” Jaune said. “Me and Pyrrha, we… took care of him.”<br/><br/>“I presumed,” Ozpin nodded. “Given the state of Pyrrha’s dress and the bruises you two were covered in.”</p><p>Jaune paused as he suddenly realized something. “...wait, if you knew about Graphite why didn’t you take care of him? Why wait on us to deal with him?”</p><p>“It has been far too long since I have seen combat, Jaune D’arc. The reason why I gave up trying to fight and instead train Huntsmen and Huntresses to fight is far too complex. But the point is, even if I wanted to fight, would I be enough to control the coming forces? The White Fang, the Grimm, and now this Graphite? No. I need to make sure that we have more than enough to contain any such threats in case they spiralled out of control,” Ozpin told him, rather vague. Perhaps purposefully so, Jaune thought. “As far as the teams this year have been going, both your team, JWRP, and team RNBY, have also been a commanding force in stemming the tides of evil.” </p><p>“We’re just kids!” Jaune started, somewhat horrified. “We shouldn’t even be on the front lines!”</p><p>“Exactly. In a better world, a less cruel one you wouldn’t be,” Ozpin sighed sadly, many a year suddenly showing on his face. His eyes now showed just how many he’d lost during the centuries-long war against the Grimm. Friends, comrades. “Alas, we don’t live in such a world. The Enemy doesn’t care about your age or fighting experience. It comes for us all the same.”</p><p>“Ozpin…?” Jaune noticed his headmaster’s rather sad look.</p><p>“Apologies. Apparently, I’ve been cooped up in this place for too long, it seems. My mind’s going places I’d prefer it not to go,” Ozpin rubbed the back of his neck as he snapped out of his trance. “Why don’t we return to the matter at hand, shall we? Now, why are you the chosen Kamen Rider? And why do you fight as one such?”<br/><br/>“Does it matter why I was chosen?” Jaune asked. “And as for why I fight, it’s to protect my friends.” <br/><br/>“That’s a rather selfish notion isn’t it?” Ozpin pondered.</p><p>“Selfish!?!” Jaune nearly shouted.</p><p>“Well, from my understanding you should be protecting the world. Forgive me if this sounds cold, but your friends are nothing compared to the rest of the world which now relies on you,” Ozpin remarked. “What, do you think the creatures of the grimm ravaging the rest of the world care about you and your friends? Do you think the world cares for your friends? No, they need a symbol, someone to rally behind. A hero, mhmm? That’s what your family’s always been, right? Protecting your friends and only your friends is a rather childish notion, because I believe whoever you promised to be the best Decade that you can be would want you to expand your horizon a little more. You follow me?”</p><p>“I… I…” Jaune stammered. “I do, yeah.”</p><p>“Right. Now then, Jaune, I hope that this has been a rather enlightening talk,” Ozpin held his cane by his side and walked up to the blonde once again. “As for the where and when of the next attack, that’s something we shall have to figure out for ourselves, but the rest speaks for itself.” </p><p>Ozpin stared into Jaune’s eyes again. “You are to return to your dorms and regroup with your team. Your Huntsman curriculum will go unchanged, and I strongly urge you to improve both your semblance, whatever that may be, and your Kamen Rider powers. To that end, I have instructed Qrow to give you special one-to-one lessons on how to control your semblance to a higher degree. I hope that this doesn’t upset you.”</p><p>“No, it doesn’t,” Jaune said before he said something that made the Headmaster halt in his tracks. “...but just what aren’t you telling me?”<br/><br/>“Excuse me?” <br/><br/>“I’m not dumb Headmaster, despite all evidence to the contrary. You speak of The Enemy as if it’s a living force. A singular mind,” Jaune had been paying attention to this whole conversation, the little hints and pauses of hesitation in the Headmaster’s speech. Like he was choosing his words very carefully. “So what aren’t you telling me?”</p><p>“You’re reading too much into this Jaune,” the Headmaster said. “I… suppose I was being facetious, giving the Grimm a more poetic touch. Apologies. Now get to class, I wouldn’t want a prospective Kamen Rider to be kicked out over poor grades.”</p><p>“I…” Jaune started, before realizing debating the matter any further was probably futile. “...Okay.”</p><p>As he headed out of the office, he heard shouting. Two voices arguing, both of which he recognized.<br/><br/>“YOU WERE DOING WHAT?!” <br/><br/>“I’m sorry kid, I had to,” Qrow admitted, shamefully. <br/><br/>“Ozpin’s orders right?” Ruby basically all but snarled. “You were <em> spying </em> on us! On Jaune! And why? He’s not a threat!” <br/><br/>There was an uncomfortable silence which gave the girl all the answer she needed.</p><p>“WHAT!?!” Ruby shrieked, honestly pretty scary when mad. “He was… Uncle Qrow!”</p><p>“I didn’t say I agreed with Ozpin, kid,” Jaune overheard his professor say.</p><p>“...but you worked for him anyways,” Ruby grumbled as he rounded a corner. “You followed his orders anyways. I… Gaaaaaaagh.”</p><p>“I have to admit, I am pretty disappointed,” Weiss agreed with her teammate, giving a little nod. She crossed her arms, giving a fairly annoyed look at her professor. “Just when I thought I was starting to respect you.”<br/><br/>“I’m so telling Yang about this…” Ruby muttered.</p><p>“Tell ‘em whatever you want, Ruby. Truth be told, caring about things just makes ya hesitate,” Qrow bitterly spat. “You wanna hate me for what’s going on? That’s fine. I deserve everything. As I always have since I got my stupid semblance. But orders are orders. And Jaune’s getting some private time with me, courtesy of the boss.”</p><p>“I mean, I’d happily train Jaune to unlock his semblance…” Pyrrha tried to put in. “We could all contribute…”</p><p>“I… I just don’t want any special treatment,” Jaune admitted as he finally made himself known, Ruby rushing up to embrace him in one of her famous hugs.<br/><br/>“JAUNE!” Ruby shouted as she hugged him tightly, almost with a bone-shattering grip. The blonde flushed brightly and out of the corner of his eye he spotted Pyrrha making an… interesting face.</p><p>“Oh thank goodness, I was… worried,” Pyrrha said, rather embarrassed. “I know it’s shameful of me to worry like that, but a part of me was thinking that the Headmaster would take your Driver or… or expose you to the school. O-Or something. Yes, something like that.”</p><p>“Naw, don’t worry, he never planned anything like that.” Qrow tried to butt in.<br/><br/>“Did I say you could talk?” Ruby glared, the atmosphere against her uncle. “I don’t want to hear anything from you right now…”</p><p>“I… yes, quite. What Ruby said,” Weiss added before giving a little dismissive wave in full Ice Queen mode. “Go on, shoo. Jaune will talk to you when we let him. Go!”</p><p>“I… uh, okay wow,” Jaune sighed. “Today’s… something else. Where’s Professor Goodwitch? Isn’t she normally around for this sort of thing?”<br/><br/>“This sort of thing, as you claim,” came a voice from behind. “Was between you and Headmaster Ozpin. It wasn’t my place to interfere. Though truthfully, I didn’t see any reason to spy on a child. The Headmaster, despite his many virtues, can be rather paranoid alas.”</p><p>“...well, at least one of the teachers is on our side…” Ruby uttered to herself.</p><p>“Be mindful of what you say, despite how badly we approached this, we had every reason to be cautious,” Professor Goodwitch explained. “Sadly, the war against the Grimm has taken a toll on us all. We’ve all had to do things we’re not proud of.”<br/><br/>“Clearly…” Ruby replied, still bitter.</p><p>“Don’t be too hard on your Uncle, he was only doing what he thought was right. If it helps,” Goodwitch went on. “He raised his voice against the Headmaster time and time again. He was very much against this.”<br/><br/>Ruby’s eyes softened. “Really?” <br/><br/>“Yes, really.” <br/><br/>The scythe wielder seemed to smile a bit, before sighing. “Okay, but I’m still mad at him.”</p><p>“...fair enough.”</p><p><br/><br/>---------</p><p> </p><p>“As much as I’m annoyed with him right now, I… have to admit Headmaster Ozpin’s right,” Ruby said back in their dorm. “You need to learn how to control your powers. You warped time and space, Fearless Leader. You brought Graphite to Vale.”<br/><br/>“Gee, thanks for the reminder,” Jaune muttered.</p><p>Ruby winced. “Sorry.”</p><p>“No no, you’re right,” Jaune said. “I need to learn how to control these powers of mine, before I accidentally bring in something <em> really </em>dangerous.”</p><p>“Graphite was plenty dangerous,” Weiss groaned. “I still have the bruises!”</p><p>“Weiss…” Pyrrha said warningly to her, which promptly shut the white-haired girl up.</p><p>“Annnnnnnnnyways…” Ruby started. </p><p>“Yes, anyways…” Jaune said before after a moment’s silence letting out a sigh not really knowing where to begin honestly. “...okay, uh… whoof.”</p><p>“Giving up already?” Weiss joked, Ruby smacking her over the head.</p><p>“What, no! It’s just…” Jaune said before pulling out a card from the Ride Booker and staring at it almost longingly. Faiz’s main rider card, to be exact. “It’s just… uh, well, it’s not like this power came with instruction manuals or anything. I wish I could talk to one of Decade’s friends, maybe they’d have more insight right?”<br/><br/>“What, you think they can travel dimensions too?” Ruby asked.</p><p>“No, it’s just… maybe they know more how his powers worked than I do. Alas, they’re worlds away.”<br/><br/>For a moment, Ruby drew oddly silent as well. Jaune liked to think he knew her well enough, and a happy Ruby was bouncing off the walls with her eyes sparkling. A sad Ruby however only said something when prompted, and her normally silver eyes grew a dour stormy grey.</p><p>“...hey, you think in all of these infinite worlds there’s a world with my mom still alive?”<br/><br/>“She wouldn’t be your mom, Ruby,” Pyrrha said to her, somewhat sternly but still soft. “She’d just be a copy, she wouldn’t be <em> your </em> mom.” <br/><br/>“I know that! It’s just…” Ruby sighed, wiping at her eyes. “I’d just like to see her again, I barely remember her. I… I just want to know what she was like, okay?” <br/><br/>“Oh, Ruby…” Weiss and Pyrrha said, both on instinct rushing to hug her. </p><p>Jaune however, stayed silent. He wished there was something he could do to help, and with a power like his combined with stray emotions…? Things could get very weird fast and indeed they did as an honest desire to help took hold with his powers going wild as reality shifted.</p><p>“...what the what?” Ruby asked, finding her team now in high school uniforms as outside blue butterflies <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDg1LjMZEjU"> flew by their window… </a></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, so uh short chapter but I figured it worked best like this. As a 'bridge' if you will between arcs and yep we're finally starting to do full-on dimensional travel. Open your eyes... for the next Faiz!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So yeah, little side project of mine. Not sure if it'll go anywheres, but I'm hoping it will. This is mostly something for me to work on when ideas for my other pieces are coming up zilch. Idle hands after all.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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